Porto Santo enrolled in the World Biosphere Reserve Network

The application of the Island of Porto Santo to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve has just been approved by the International Coordination Council of the Program 'The Man and the Biosphere - MAB' of this United Nations body.

With this inscription he rises to 12 the number of Portuguese Biosphere Reserves on the UNESCO World Network.

It is a UNESCO intergovernmental scientific program, combining the natural and social sciences, promoting innovative approaches to economic development, socially and culturally appropriate, and environmentally sustainable.

The World Biosphere Reserve Network is an instrument for international cooperation through knowledge sharing, exchange of experiences, capacity building and promotion of best practices. It is a dynamic and interactive international network, consisting of more than 700 reservas, which aims to implement actions that contribute to a harmonious relationship between human beings and nature in a wide range of contexts.

Biosphere Reserves are defined by UNESCO as living laboratories, where they develop as main functions, landscape conservation, ecosystems and species, and socially sustainable development, economic, cultural and ecological, acting as research platforms, monitoring, education and awareness.

The Portuguese Biosphere Reserves already registered in the World Network are: Mouthful (1981), Raven (2007), Graciosa Azores (2007), Azores Flowers (2009), Gerês – Xurés Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (Portugal / Spain) (2009), Berlengas (2011), Santana – Madeira (2011), the Meseta Ibérica Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (Portugal / Spain) (2015), Fajãs de S. Jorge (2016), the Tejo / Tajo Internacional Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (2016) and Castro Verde (2017).