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The Greater Victoria NatureHood (GVNH) collaborative is beginning the process to nominate Greater Victoria as a Biosphere Region under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). This process typically takes 3-5 years. There are currently 19 Biosphere Regions in Canada, with 3 in British Columbia: Mount Arrowsmith, Clayoquot Sound and Howe Sound.
A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is a formal designation and does not come with legislation or direct funding. However, the UNESCO name provides influence and indirect leverage to build out the needed research, funding and staffing capacity.
Supporting a process for reconciliation with the local First Nations is essential to Greater Victoria’s economic future.
With climate action and reconciliation with First Nations an overarching framework, Biosphere Regions bring together three complementary functions:
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Learning places for sustainable development,
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Supporting science and education, and
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Building economic development that is socio-culturally-
environmentally sustainable.
Biosphere Regions are thought of as
‘living laboratories’, and world-wide they harbour a significant share of global biodiversity.
Biosphere Regions are organized into three zones: Core,
Buffer and Transition. The amount of human influence
increases as you move out from the core.
Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Greater Victoria is a prime location for a Biosphere Region, as currently ~25% of the area is protected to provide the core function; there is a rich community cultural heritage; there are prominent universities as the base for research and education; GVNH can help build the necessary collaboration; and we have the support of like-minded businesses, environmental and civic NGOs, and municipalities.
Greater Victoria has a reputation as a place where you can easily get out and explore nature – right in your backyard.
Year after year the public has identified the natural environment as the best thing about living here.
Biosphere Regions are founded on the principle that communities and ecosystems thrive together; and that Indigenous people and local communities need to be active partners in protecting and restoring the environment, and to build sustainable livelihoods.
It is essential that as the Victoria Biosphere Region process moves forward, we work with and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən, SC’IȺNEW, T’Sou-ke and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
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Image credits: Friends of Uplands Park, Greater Victoria NatureHood, UNESCO
