Criteria For Biospere Reserves
Criteria For Biosphere Reserves
With reference to the criteria for biosphere reserves in Article 4 of the Statutory Framework for the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, applied to the LPBR [Note: This is Section IX from the periodic review report that follows].
1. Biosphere reserves should encompass a mosaic of ecological systems representative of major biogeographic regions, including a gradation of human interventions.
The LPBR encompasses one of the richest mosaics of ecological systems associated with erosion deposit sand spit formations in the Laurentian Great Lakes, as well as some of the largest remaining forest tracts in "Carolinian Canada". Gradations in human interventions range from coastal wetlands management with restricted access through to intensive cottage and recreation development in the Long Point complex and Inner Bay area of the biosphere reserve. On the mainland, they range from forest management and restoration to conversion of lands into intensive agriculture.
2. Biosphere reserves should be significant for biological diversity conservation.
The variety of habitats support a rich flora and fauna, including a number of species which are rare in Canada or in Ontario. The biosphere reserve includes a waterfowl staging area and migration stop-over area for land birds which are of continental importance. This has been recognized by its designation as a Ramsar site in 1982, and as a globally significant Important Bird Area by BirdLife International in 1996.
3. Biosphere reserves should provide an opportunity to explore and demonstrate approaches to sustainable development on a regional scale.
A 90 ha impoundment in the Big Creek National Wildlife Area was constructed in 1985 to demonstrate marsh management through water level controls to maintain a 50:50 mix of emergent vegetation and open water. The impacts of this on selected biota are monitored by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
A "Restoring Forest Corridors to Benefit Agriculture and Wildlife" project was carried out in 1995-1998 by the LPBR under which over 1,800 ha of forests were inventoried at the request of owners and 60 ha restored with native plant species. The LPBR has recently secured funds from Ontario Power Generation, as part of the provincial utility's Carbon Sequestration program, to continue this project in 2001 – 2002. A demonstration project was also carried out on vegetation management along an agricultural drain to reduce erosion into the water and enhance wildlife habitat. Wetland conservation needs and opportunities for waterfowl and other wildlife in "old Norfolk County" were identified in a recent study (Petrie 1998).
Vegetation exclosure plots on Long Point demonstrated the severity of herbivory by large numbers of deer on the point, and led to the decision to reduce the number of deer quite drastically in 1989 and 1990.
The LPBR has looked into opportunities for additional involvement in community economic issues, notably in ecotourism, and has participated in consultations on the feasibility of some options.
4. Biosphere reserves should have an appropriate size to serve the three functions of biosphere reserves (set out in Article 3).
The only "limitation" that might relate to the conservation function is that certain migratory species move in and out of the biosphere reserve at particular seasons. Some fish that spawn in the Inner Bay move to the more open waters of Lake Erie, or go further east along the shore. The biosphere reserve is also an integral part of Lake Erie, subject to limnological influences that are critical for maintaining the aquatic ecosystems.
Conservation of migratory birds is carried out through major collaborative efforts such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (1986; 1998) and especially its Eastern Habitats Joint Venture; the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, supported since 1999 by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (Canada, the USA, and Mexico); and "Partners-in-Flight" (Canada), a collaborative initiative for bird conservation which has population monitoring as a key component. Personnel associated with Bird Studies Canada and the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund (which are headquartered in the biosphere reserve) are closely involved with these initiatives.
5. Biosphere reserves should include these functions through appropriate zonation.
The appropriate zonations exist within the mix of ownerships and management policies of government and private property owners in the area of the biosphere reserve. The transition area / zone of cooperation was not defined in the original nomination but in practice it has become the lower Big Creek and associated small watershed areas where activities in forest restoration, and the establishment of forest biodiversity monitoring plots have been carried out.
6. Biosphere reserves should have organizational arrangements for the involvement and participation of various authorities and groups in carrying out the functions of biosphere reserves.
The organizational arrangements for the LPBR provide for this. People associated with governmental authorities or other community groups have served on the executive committee for the biosphere reserve, or have otherwise been involved in voluntary activities fostered by the biosphere reserve. Given the cross-affiliation of participants in the LPBR with some of the government agencies and other local NGOs in the area, the biosphere reserve has become firmly embedded and accepted in the local community, and by local agency officials.
7. Biosphere reserves should have provisions for management of human use and activities in the buffer zones, a management policy or plan for the area of the biosphere reserve, a designated authority or mechanism to implement this policy or plan, and programs for research, monitoring, education and training.
The policies and plans are administered through different government agencies and private landowners within the biosphere reserve, not by the LPBR itself. In the Canadian context, it could not be otherwise. Programs for research, monitoring, education and training are carried on within the biosphere reserve, mainly by other bodies. The LPBR helps with some of these, and provide for informal communication and cooperation among them through its own projects and activities. Among the latter, the LPBR has played a lead role for projects sponsored by the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association, for example, in forest biodiversity monitoring, and land use and climate change studies
The main difficulty facing the biosphere reserve has been the continuing lack of secure core funding so that the full potential in the volunteerism so strongly displayed by residents in the community can be more fully realized. The main annual fund-raising event consumes a significant portion of the Executive Committee's time and energies. Given the experience over the past decade, it would be timely for the LPBR to develop, in consultation with others, a longer-term "strategic and/or business plan" that set some directions and priorities around which fund-raising efforts could be concentrated. The planning process that would lead to such a plan might also consider questions about reconfiguring the biosphere reserve to include a terrestrial component on the adjacent mainland, implementing a modest co-ordinated monitoring program to start with, adopting public information and communication around the theme of ecosystems and sustainable resource use in the Long Point area as a continuing focus for the biosphere reserve, and following-up on some "eco-tourism" possibilities that have been explored.
The main conclusion of the reviewers is that the LPBR definitely merits continued membership in the world network.
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