• Addition to UNESCO list gives Spain a total of 48 biosphere reserves •
UNESCO has bestowed biosphere-reserve designation on the area around the cross-border Rio Tajo running between Spain and Portugal, adding it along with 19 other new sites to its World Network of Biosphere Reserves roster and giving Spain a total of 48 biosphere reserves — more than any other country and supplanting the United States at the top of the world biosphere rankings.
At a meeting last week in Peru, UNESCO’s International Co-ordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme named the area shared by Spain and Portugal along the Tajo river (Tejo in Portuguese, “Tagus” in English) as an area for promotion of sustainable human development in harmony with the conservation of the region’s biodiversity and natural resources.
The Tajo-Tejo reserve flora is comprised mainly of cork oak formations and Mediterranean scrub that co-exist with cultivated farmland and pastures, where livestock and forestry are the principal sources of human livelihood. The reserve is also home to many rare species of birds and animals, including the European imperial eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, the black stork, the black vulture and otters.
► Read More in Spanish at Ecoticias and El Diario …
► Read More in English at UNESCO.org …
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