Yeoncheon Imjin River
Biosphere Reserve

World Network of Biosphere Reserves

The MAB regards biosphere reserves as a way to combat global environmental issues such as climate change and reduced biodiversity. As part of these efforts, the MAB began to put stress on cooperation among the biosphere reserves throughout the world in 1995 with the establishment of the Seville Strategy. In addition to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), the MAB networks have been established in the continents of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, North America, and South America, as well as the Middle East and the Caribbean. Each biosphere reserve promotes cooperation according to the characteristics of its natural ecosystem such as deserts, forests, and wetlands, as in the case of the World Network of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves.

As of 2022, the total number of members had reached 738 biosphere reserves in 134 countries around the world, and a total of eight biosphere reserves are in Korea. Korea is a member of the East Asian Biosphere Reserve Network (EABRN), which was established under the initiative of Korea in 1995, and a total of seven countries including Korea, China, Mongolia, Japan, North Korea, the Russian Federation, and Kazakhstan are part of the network.

Biosphere Reserves in Korea

Since the establishment of the MAB National Committee of Republic of Korea in 1980, a total of eight biosphere reserves have been designated in Korea.