Project details

Contracted by the Ministry for Environment and Consumer Protection of the Federal State of Saarland, the IfLS authors the coordinated framework concept for the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve. The project was completed in 2015. The Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve in Germany by the UNESCO in 2009.

Biosphere Reserves are model regions for the exemplary implementation of sustainable development goals. Besides a sustainable regional development, the main objectives of biosphere reserves are the preservation of biodiversity, as well as research and education. Therefore the goal is not only environmental protection, but a comprehensive approach that places man in the centre of development. The protection of cultural landscapes is given priority to promote economic development and to fulfill the educational as well as the research mandate.

The UNESCO had defined specific criteria for recognizing and reviewing biosphere reserves. Therefore a coordinated framework concept needs to be elaborated within three years after recognition in close collaboration with the relevant specialist departments, public agencies and civil groups. The coordinated framework concept serves the purpose of specific spatial implementation of the development models and strategies in the fields of action. At the same time they connect to the UNESCO programme ‘Man and the Biosphere’ (MAB).

IfLS not only refers to a long-standing experience in elaborating regional development concepts but also expertise at the interface of environmental protection, regional development and agriculture. The advanced monitoring approach for large-scale conservation areas was one of the methods applied in the project for analyzing the current state of the biosphere reserve. It had been developed by IfLS in close collaboration with EUROPARC Deutschland e.V. as part of a government-funded R&D project.