266 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



success is premature. Full application of the 

 concept, essentially as a conservation and de- 

 velopment tool, presents complex problems 

 both legally and administratively. The program 

 has not required special legislation, which 

 leaves each country to adapt existing laws, 

 which are often too weak and too segmented 

 for the kind of integrated multiple-use planning 

 and conservation required (ranging from core 

 areas receiving strict protection to buffer zones 

 in agricultural or other compatible uses). 



Moreover, because large areas are involved, 

 generally with some human settlement, appli- 

 cation of such a concept necessarily involves 

 many levels of government as well as several 

 technical agencies. Most government admin- 

 istrations tend to be sector-oriented and inex- 

 perienced in coordinating jurisdiction and pro- 

 gram reponsibilities in such areas as public 

 health, agriculture, forestry, wildlife conserva- 

 tion, and public works— all of which may be 

 required for an effective long-term biosphere 

 reserve program. Special councils or commit- 

 tees of governmental and nongovernmental rep- 

 resentatives may need to be formed to play this 

 coordinating role. 



Notwithstanding the program's practical 

 problems, the planning and management prin- 

 ciples in the biosphere reserves concept reflect 

 what an international conservation program 

 needs to endorse — "conservation as an open 

 system," where areas of undisturbed natural 

 ecosystems can be surrounded by areas of "syn- 

 thetic and compatible use," and where people 

 are considered part of the system [71). 



A number of more recent developments sug- 

 gest that the MAB program will become an in- 

 creasingly important investment opportunity 

 for biological diversity maintenance. First, the 

 concept and purpose of biosphere reserves has 

 been sharpened and clarified to reflect prag- 

 matic lessons learned over the 10 years since 

 the first biosphere reserve was established (7). 

 The establishment of the Scientific Advisory 

 Panel for Biosphere Reserves in 1985 promises 

 a more informed, consistent, and structured ap- 

 proach to the MAB system. Current directions 

 also suggest that MAB will continue to stress 



the important work in research on human needs 

 and impacts within its conservation approach 

 as reflected in its four recently approved re- 

 search areas (72): 



1. ecosystem functioning under different in- 

 tensities of human impact, 



2. management and restoration of resources 

 affected by humans, 



3. human investment and resource use, and 



4. human response to environmental stress. 



Critical review of the existing system has 

 prompted greater attention to ensuring that all 

 three basic elements of biosphere reserves are 

 incorporated into existing and future reserves. 

 These basic elements are the following: 



1. Conservation Role: conservation of genetic 

 material and ecosystems. 



2. Development Role: association of environ- 

 ment with development. 



3. Logistic Role: international network for re- 

 search and monitoring (7). 



Placing greater emphasis on the last two roles, 

 as opposed to the first role which has been pre- 

 dominant to date, will likely contribute increased 

 opportunities and benefits to the biosphere re- 

 serve system. Finally, the MAB program may 

 be able to provide important contributions and 

 cooperations within the most recently launched 

 international environmental program, the In- 

 ternational Geosphere/Biosphere Program, be- 

 ing formulated by the International Council of 

 Scientific Unions (54). 



The United States withdrawal from UNESCO 

 has had a number of implications for U.S. par- 

 ticipation in MAB (59). An evaluation of the 

 impacts of this withdrawal suggests that, be- 

 cause MAB activities are largely undertaken 

 as national projects or bilateral arrangements, 

 the short-term impacts on MAB are not very 

 significant. Long-term impacts, however, could 

 seriously compromise the effectiveness and po- 

 tential of international MAB unless alternatives 

 can be found to provide U.S. scientific and fi- 

 nancial participation (59). 



The Convention Concerning the Protection 

 of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage be- 

 gan in 1975 and at present has 85 member states 



