Urbanisation of Protected Areas within the European Union—An Analysis of UNESCO Biospheres and the Need for New Strategies

Maryann Harris, Claire Cave, Karen Foley, Thomas Bolger and Tamara Hochstrasser
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Maryann Harris: School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Claire Cave: School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Karen Foley: Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Thomas Bolger: School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Tamara Hochstrasser: School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-26

Abstract: The UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) comprise core conservation areas supported by a buffer and transition zone of sustainable development. This zoning can help manage urbanisation around conservation areas. Although it is UNESCO policy to measure the number of BRs that have interactions with urban areas, there has been no systematic assessment of urban biospheres since 2008. This research addresses this deficit by measuring the extent of urbanisation of all designated BRs within the European Union (EU). Using the Copernicus Urban Atlas, the proximity of BRs to Functional Urban Areas (FUA) was determined. The results show that 46% (76/167) of BRs are situated within FUAs, including 11% (18/167) entirely within an FUA. The majority (64%) of EU-28 countries have BRs within FUAs. Urban influences on EU-28 BRs are extensive, as 90% are found within 50 km of an FUA. However, integration with urban areas may be lacking as 14% of EU BRs were adjacent to an FUA. Urban pressures are acute for 11% of EU BRs which had multiple FUAs within a 50 km radius. Therefore, urbanisation of BRs is a widespread challenge and recommendations are provided for BRs to function as an information sharing network and develop a new urban strategy.

Keywords: urbanisation; protected areas; UNESCO biosphere reserve; urban ecosystems; Urban Atlas; ecological networks; biodiversity; proximity; European Union; Functional Urban Area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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