Welcome to the United Nations
1.GREEN ECONOMY IN BIOSPHERE RESERVES (GEBR): A MEANS TO
POVERTY REDUCTION, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (GEBR)
By diversifying local economies in and around biosphere reserves (BRs) this
project aims at contributing to the conservation of biodiversity, poverty reduction
and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. UNESCO BRs are sites
managed under national jurisdiction to promote biodiversity conservation,
enhance the socio-economic well-being of local communities, and encourage
learning and knowledge building on sustainable development practice.
Communities in and around three biosphere reserves (Bia, Ghana); (Omo,
Nigeria) and (East Usambara, Tanzania) have been targeted for this initiative.
During the three years implementation of the project, training and capacity
building on selected biodiversity businesses such as beekeeping, mushroom
production, nail rearing; fish farming ... ) with over 600 beneficiaries, with an
average of 30% of Women and 15% of Youth.
2.STRENGTHENING THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST HERITAGE OF
SUMATRA, INDONESIA THROUGH ECOTOURISM
Covering 2,500,000 ha and composed by three National Parks (NP), the Tropical
Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra was inscribed in the World Heritage list in 2004.
One of its NPs, Gunung Leuser, is also part of the World Network of Biosphere
Reserves since 1981 . However, the TRHS was inscribed on the list of World
Heritage in Danger in 2011 , due to the long-standing threats to the integrity of this
site.
In its efforts to implement a holistic approach to TRHS protection, UNESCO
supports Indonesia's initiative to develop sustainable ecotourism at TRHS area.
Ecotourism as one of the concepts of sustainable tourism tries to create a
harmonious balance between nature protection, social resilience, and tourist
satisfaction. It is expected to become a means to increase the local communities'
income and improve their livelihoods, and therefore reduce their dependence on
more extractive and damaging practices.
UNESCO Jakarta implemented a project, with the kind support from the Spanish
Fund-in Trust, to develop an Ecotourism Master Plan for TRHS as a decision
support tool for the development of sustainable ecotourism in the three NPs of
TRHS, including Gunung Leuser BR, covering the identification of its natural and
cultural resources for ecotourism, including potential and main tourism attractions,
stakeholders, policies on tourism development and conservation, as well as
strategic issues. The project included as well participatory workshops and
meetings with the local stakeholders and capacity building trainings. A series of
strategic tailor-made recommendations for each partner involved in the
ecotourism sector aimed to be implemented in a coordinated and strategic
manner and contribute to develop this sector sustainably. With this project,
UNESCO supported the Government of Indonesia's initiative to develop
sustainable ecotourism as a mean to increase the local communities' income and
improve their livelihoods while at the same time ensuring the protection and
preservation of the special designated sites.
