What are they for ?  Where are they ?  Man and nature Some difficult words

Piedmont scenery in autumn © BDP
To live, man needs nature. For a long time, there were not many people on earth. Their technical resources were very primitive. This limited man's impact on nature. Today, natural resources are widely used, and sometimes over-exploited: this creates an imbalance. The population increase and technical advances are partly responsible. Because the balance of the natural environment is threatened: animal and plant species disappear every day.

How can we continue to exploit our environment to live, without destroying it? The resources of the planet are limited. We therefore need to learn to make better use of them, or to promote the use of renewable resources.

To achieve this UNESCO has launched a research programme called "Man and the biosphère". Its aim is to encourage greater awareness of the relations between man and nature. This programme seeks solutions for the protection of nature and the economic and social development of populations: this is sustainable development.

This programme awards specific territories the title of biosphere reserve. These regions are recognised throughout the world for their natural resources, their monuments and their history. In these reserves, the policy of sustainable development is applied. A biosphere reserve is not a museum, it is a living place!

But where are these reserves ?
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this is a natural resource, capable of renewing itself naturally and used by man. (Wood, wind, energy from the sun). Its use does not cause a reduction in the planet's resources.

this is an international organisation which promotes peace throughout the world by means of education, culture and science. Its head office is in Paris, France.

this is the part of the terrestrial globe on which life is possible, i.e. on land, in the water and in the air.