Italian Julian Alps: the new UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve

The Italian Julian Alps MaB was announced recently in Paris as one of the newest UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Reserve (MaB) established in Italy. Congratulations! Here is all you have to know about this new Man and Biosphere Reserve… who is also a special member of the EUROPARC Network!

The Italian Julian Alps MaB

The new MaB Unesco Biosphere Reserve “Italian Julian Alps” encompasses a territory of 11 Italian municipalities of the north-eastern part of the Friuli Region. The official designation includes the term Julian Alps in order to reinforce the will to cooperate with the neighboring Slovenian Biosphere Reserve Julijske Alpe.

We wish to have in the future a unique Transboundary Biosphere Reserve of the Julian Alps,

said Stefano Santi, Director of the Prealpi Giulie Nature Park.

UNESCO appreciated not only the extraordinary biodiversity and amazing landscapes of the area but also the strict relation with Slovenia witnessed by the Transboundary Ecoregion Julian Alps certified by EUROPARC Federation both as Transboundary Park and with the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism.

The new Biosphere Reserve will give to all the area an extraordinary possibility to become a pilot area in the testing of new forms of sustainable development with a transboundary shared vision.

The President of the Prealpi Giulie Nature Park Andrea Beltrame thanked all the people and institutions that supported the candidature, especially the Young Advisory Board of the Park, fundamental for recognition of the strong involvement with the local community that the Park pursues.

A Transboundary Park, a Sustainable Destination and a UNESCO MaB region… all in one?

The Prealpi Giulie Nature Park, the entity that managed the UNESCO MaB application process and will be in charge of the coordination activities of the MaB Reserve, is a very special member of the EUROPARC network: since 2007 they are following the EUROPARC’s Transboundary Parks Programme, working side-by-side with its Slovenian neighbour – Triglav National Park. Together, they form the Transboundary Ecoregion of the Julian Alps, sharing natural and human resources, projects, monitoring data, and visitors!

In 2016, the park authorities across borders gave another unifying step and became the first Transboundary Park working together to become a Sustainable Destination. By following the methodology of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas, the Parks have now a common vision for tourism development in the region and work every day to make this vision real.