The role and contribution of educational activities in UNESCO mountain biosphere reserves
Abstract
The provision of educational activity in BRs is officially guided by Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD), a UNESCO endorsed education programme. However, the independence
accorded to BRs, and the diversity of circumstances they represent, mean they also innovate
educational activities to reflect local characteristics. In addition, the ways in which Mountain
Biosphere Reserves (MBRs), specifically, implement educational activity is less well known. This
research, therefore, was conducted with the aim of exploring and understanding the role and
contribution of educational activities in MBRs, with reference to the influence of institutional and
local factors. For this study an online survey was conducted in 2021, with staff from 43 MBRs,
from 23 countries, and followed up with 10 qualitative interviews. All data were collected from
staff based in MBRs who have knowledge and/or experience of delivering educational activities to
local audiences. Survey questionnaires were conducted in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and
interviews were conducted in English.
Results indicate that MBRs provide a diverse range of educational activities, and that outdoor
experiential learning, with small audience groups, is viewed as the most effective approach. While
educational aims and objectives are largely aligned with ESD guidance, some are adjusted to
reflect the characteristics of the MBR, local land use and the needs of local communities.
Educational content is sourced and customised independently by MBR staff, though there is
widespread request for a UNESCO MAB educational content platform. Increasing knowledge and
understanding is prioritised over behaviour change, and targeting behavioural change relating to
local land use is more tangible than when associated with climate change, which remains a
complex framing challenge. Insufficient funding is identified as the primary inhibitor of more
effective educational activity, in particular for MBRs from lower income countries.