Candidature to a MAB UNESCO Trasboundary Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO MAB Julian Alps, together at last!

The “Man and Biosphere (MAB) UNESCO programme” is an international initiative to promote sustainable development, nature conservation and involvement of local communities.

In the framework of the UNESCO MAB, territories are recognized as 'Biosphere Reserves' if their local communities live and act in harmony with the surrounding nature. There are 738 Biosphere Reserves worldwide, only 22 are transboundary recognitions.

The Julian Alps, on both sides, have already obtained this important recognition (the Slovenian Alps since 2003 and the Italian Alps since 2019) and are now two distinct Biosphere Reserves. The recognition as transboundary Biosphere Reserve would allow, by transcending national administrative borders, to unify the perimeters of the two current Biosphere Reserves, covering an area of almost 277,000 hectares in total. The transboundary Biosphere Reserve will not override the existing national recognitions but will be in addition to them.

Between December 2022 and August 2023, the Julian Pre-Alps Natural Park and the Triglav National Park, as coordinators of the national Biosphere Reserves, have developed studies and technical analysis for the drafting of the nomination form, involving all the stakeholders of the Julian Alps (local authorities, enterprises, associations, the world of education, universities and research bodies,...) in the "construction" of the new Transboundary Biosphere Reserve through a series of meeting.

On September 28^th, 2023, the Slovenian Ministry of the Natural Resource and Spatial Planning, in agreement with the Italian National MAB Technical Committee, has officially transmitted to the UNESCO MAB Secretariat the nomination form and the documentation realized. The response by UNESCO to the nomination is attended by June 2023.

The Nomination Form and the Map of the candidate Julian Alps Transboundary Biosphere Reserve is available here: