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World map of the general dataset with 3304 publications of research in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The colour coding illustrates the number of publications on Biosphere Reserves per country. The two countries with the highest numbers of general studies are India with 390 and Mexico with 825 studies. The countries with the highest numbers of transdisciplinary studies are highlighted: Mexico 73, India 23 and Ethiopia 13. The share of publications per continent for 336 transdisciplinary publications and the general 3304 publications is depicted in the pie charts. Bar plot: Share of Biosphere Reserves per continent considering all 748 designated Biosphere Reserves as of 2023
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The World Network of Biosphere Reserves promotes learning sites for sustainable development, designated under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme (MAB). The programme aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation, economic development and capacity building. Scientific research in and about Biosphere Reserves is expected to support these objec...
Citations
... As such, Biosphere Reserves may arguably play the role of bridging organisations and foster learning, co-creation and transformative processes (Schultz and Lundholm 2011;Reed and Price 2020;Barraclough et al. 2021). In this regard, Biosphere Reserves are practical and compelling study sites to study sustainability innovations, as they have the capacity to foster innovative social networks and collaborative projects towards sustainable development (Dabard et al. 2024b(Dabard et al. , 2025. ...
... These results suggest that Biosphere Reserves can play a strong role in highlighting and actively supporting place-based sustainability innovations as model regions, thereby advancing actionable knowledge for sustainability transformations (Barraclough et al. 2021;Dabard et al. 2024b). In particular, we propose that Biosphere Reserves could purposefully support sustainability innovations by providing experimental spaces, increasing the visibility of existing initiatives and projects, and by strengthening regional networks among a diversity of actors, to broker knowledge and collaborations (Mitincu et al. 2023;Dabard et al. 2025). ...
... Here, it seems that defining fields of expertise and diversifying activities and partnerships can strengthen the role and impacts of Biosphere Reserves. Finally, we pledge for stronger commitment to sharing knowledge and experiences across boundaries of BRs, for example in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (Dabard et al. 2024b(Dabard et al. , 2025. As similar sustainability innovations were found in our two case studies, such experiences are likely relevant in other Biosphere Reserves as well. ...
To respond to global sustainability challenges with transformative solutions, there is a need to pinpoint the necessary and sufficient conditions that enhance the transformative potential of sustainability innovations. To this end, we examined 129 sustainability innovations in two European Biosphere Reserves, and analysed (1) their transformative potential, assessed based on a leverage points perspective, and (2) their supportive conditions (i.e. decision contexts, or constellations of values, rules and knowledge). Specifically, we used social network analyses to characterise different rules, or governance arrangements in the two Biosphere Reserves. By comparing the decision contexts of transformative and incremental innovations, we provide empirical evidence that plural values, coproduction and networks that are diverse, collaborative and influential, enable transformative innovations. Shallow leverage points seem insufficient but necessary to operationalise transformative change. Future research should explore the co-evolution of decision contexts and transformative potential, to better understand how to shift incremental to transformative innovations.
... The effectiveness of biosphere reserves in creating learning places for sustainable development needs to be assessed following a transdisciplinary research agenda. Although these are increasingly utilized 27 , this analysis is only the beginning of understanding biosphere reserves' complex structures and objectives. We explicitly address the functionality of forest ecosystems, and not biodiversity nor the services biosphere reserves provide for humans. ...
UNESCO biosphere reserves serve as learning areas for sustainable development, where preserving ecosystem functionality is an imperative. However, this critical assumption has yet to be thoroughly examined. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated differences in satellite-derived proxies of ecosystem functions in forests between inside and surrounding areas of biosphere reserves, globally. Our findings based on linear mixed effect models show that (i) only 18 of 119 biosphere reserves exhibited higher values for all forest ecosystem function proxies inside the reserves compared to outside, (ii) smaller reserves in fragmented forestscapes were more affected by hot day temperatures, and (iii) greater forest cover correlated with increased ecosystem functioning across all biomes. This study underscores the potential significance of biosphere reserves to biodiversity conservation efforts and the need for the integration of satellite-based, outcome-oriented proxies of ecosystem functions in assessments of protected area effectiveness.
... While scientific research in Biosphere Reserves still mainly focuses on natural sciences, there is a lack of evidence on their contributions to sustainability transformations [16]. ...
... As such, they are expected to serve as place-based learning laboratories, initiate and showcase solutions, and serve cross-scale learning through the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) [13][14][15]. Nonetheless, meeting these ambitious expectations remains a challenge, and evidence about the impacts of Biosphere Reserves as learning laboratories for sustainability innovations remains scarce to date [16]. ...
Place-based innovations are expected to provide transformative solutions to global wicked problems. Biosphere Reserves, as designated model regions for sustainable development and sustainability transformations, are bound to support place-based innovations. Yet, empirical scientific evidence about innovation in Biosphere Reserves is rare so far. Hence, we review recent findings on innovations, grassroots, and transitions in Biosphere Reserves. We highlight five pathways in which place-based innovations develop in or with Biosphere Reserves. Following, we propose five strategies for Biosphere Reserves to purposefully support place-based innovations. Finally, we argue that Biosphere Reserves research should focus on transformation governance, and we call for support from policy and from the World Network to support innovation and enhance cross-boundary learning.
... The influence in the number of studies from North America (including Mexico and the USA) has increased since the mid-1990s, which possibly makes that region have a higher visibility of publications over time with respect to the number of publications from Europe, Asia and South America, which all increased their publications after the 2000s [47]. New scientific linkages are vital for peripheral countries such as Mexico and the USA to integrate into global knowledge networks. ...
... In India, government agencies such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Biodiversity Authority support scientific research and conservation projects. The high effectiveness of research in Mexico and India may also be linked to foreign funding [47]. ...
Biosphere Reserves (BRs), designated by UNESCO, are spaces that promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on BRs through a bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in Scopus between 1977 and 2024. The main objective was to analyse the evolution of research in this field, identifying trends in scientific output, types of papers, most influential countries and universities, highest impact journals, prominent authors and established collaborative networks. In addition, the predominant research topics were identified, highlighting emerging areas of study and challenges yet to be addressed. The results provide a global perspective on the scientific development of BRs and serve as a reference for future work aimed at the sustainable management of these areas. Integrating scientific research with traditional knowledge enhances adaptive management, ensuring that strategies remain relevant and effective over time.
Place-based social-ecological research is crucial for understanding local sustainability challenges. However, lack of transferability of insights to other locations and to larger scales remains challenging. In this paper, we present a novel transdisciplinary learning framework that links notions of cultural heritage, landscape, and social-ecological systems thinking to support sustainable rural development. Continuous dialogue, learning, and collaboration among communities and stakeholders, including researchers, take centre stage in this framework. We outline the four steps of the framework, conceptually integrating and operationalising how dialogue, learning, and collaboration can take place in each step. We tested the framework in the CULTIVATE project (https://www. cultivate-project.net), which explored the role of cultural heritage narratives in supporting sustainable rural development in four European UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The framework successfully guided our research and comparative cross-case analysis, thereby contributing to aggregate learnings from place-based social-ecological research to develop knowledge at the national or global scale.
The new Biosphere Reserves Institute (BRI) at Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) represents a pioneering effort
to promote sustainable development and transformation.
As an UNESCO Category 2 Institute, the BRI serves as an international think tank that advances science, technology and innovation in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.
