ABSTRACT
The MAB Programme was introduced to South Africa in the 1990s and a country agreement with UNESCO was signed in 1995. To date, ten biosphere reserves (BRs) have been designated, covering approximately 9.5% of South Africa’s land area. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the attainment of sustainable development is a much-debated topic globally amongst national, international, and non-governmental institutions. The MAB Programme highlights the significance of BRs in assisting countries towards achieving the SDGs. Sustainable development finds its foothold in practice, and the BR model offers a landscape-scale management framework that supports and demonstrates sustainable development, whilst contributing to sustainability science. This paper tracks the increasing in-country support for the MAB Programme in South Africa by detailing alignment with the international MAB network and the ‘new’ ideals of the Programme. Information is provided on aspects of innovative implementation of the concept, inclusive governance arrangements, institutional designs, adaptive management approaches, as well as challenges facing the future of BRs in the country. We demonstrate that despite many implementation challenges South African BRs may face, the BR model continues to be a valuable tool to enable more defensible socio-political decision-making.
