Man and the Biosphere Programme
UNESCO conservation programme
The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. Even though the MAB programme was officially launched in 1971, the Intergovernmental Conference of Experts on the Scientific Basis for Rational Use and Conservation of the Resources of the Biosphere hosted by UNESCO in Paris in September 1968 is often cited as the conceptual birth of MAB.
MAB engages with the international development agenda, especially the Sustainable Development Goals and the Post 2015 Development Agenda. The MAB programme provides a platform for cooperation in research and development. As of June 2026, 797 sites across 145 countries, including 22 transboundary sites, have been included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The reserves cover more than 5% of the world’s surface and are home to over 260 million people.
Biosphere reserves
Biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Its biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Their status is internationally recognized. Biosphere reserves are 'Science for Sustainability support sites'.
Biosphere reserves have three zones:
The core area(s) comprises a strictly protected ecosystem.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Man and the Biosphere Programme” is uNESCO conservation programme. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Biosphere, Programme and UNESCO, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “uNESCO conservation programme” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14018439. VIAF identifies the subject as 137857259. The Library of Congress control number is n82204694. None of the 4 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1971, 1968, 2015 and 2026.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Man and the Biosphere Programme”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Man and the Biosphere Programme primary sources, Man and the Biosphere Programme archive and Biosphere research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Man and the Biosphere Programme”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Man and the Biosphere Programme” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.