Spain is the country with the most biosphere reserves (BRs) in the world. The aim of this paper is to investigate why BRs have come to proliferate to such a degree in Spain and why there is a gap between UNESCO’s framework and the practicalities observed in Spain. After outlining how a BR is conceived according to UNESCO and reviewing the large volume of research published to date in this respect, Spain’s BRs are characterised. The study here is based on an empirical research undertaken in five BRs located in north-western Spain by making use of 60 semi-structured interviews. The results are the outcome of the coding, categorization and interpretation of these conversations with the interviewees, obtaining three large semiotic clusters: the perceptions held of the BR tool; the development or application of the BR concept; and the reasons for their designation. Two specific underlying motives are detected for the prodigious momentum acquired by Spain’s BRs: one is geopolitical, in the context of the constant conflicts between the Spanish Government and the devolved autonomous communities; the other is the prominent role conceded to tourism in justifying the BRs. Hence, the paper reveals how BRs are political and economic products that have little in common with the theoretical environmental and sustainable development dimensions described in the UNESCO framework on BRs.

西班牙是世界上拥有最多生物圈保护区（BRs）的国家。本文的目的是调查为什么 BR 在西班牙如此普及，以及为什么教科文组织的框架与西班牙的实际情况之间存在差距。在概述了根据联合国教科文组织如何构想 BR 并回顾了迄今为止在这方面发表的大量研究之后，西班牙的 BR 得到了描述。此处的研究基于对位于西班牙西北部的五个 BR 进行的一项实证研究，该研究利用了 60 次半结构化访谈。结果是与受访者的这些对话的编码、分类和解释的结果，获得了三个大型符号集群：对 BR 工具的看法；BR概念的发展或应用；以及他们指定的原因。发现西班牙 BR 获得巨大势头的两个具体潜在动机：一个是地缘政治，在西班牙政府与下放自治社区之间不断冲突的背景下；另一个是旅游业在证明 BR 合理性方面的突出作用。因此，本文揭示了 BRs 是如何成为与 UNESCO BRs 框架中描述的理论环境和可持续发展维度几乎没有共同点的政治和经济产品。另一个是旅游业在证明 BR 合理性方面的突出作用。因此，本文揭示了 BRs 是如何成为与 UNESCO BRs 框架中描述的理论环境和可持续发展维度几乎没有共同点的政治和经济产品。另一个是旅游业在证明 BR 合理性方面的突出作用。因此，本文揭示了 BRs 是如何成为与 UNESCO BRs 框架中描述的理论环境和可持续发展维度几乎没有共同点的政治和经济产品。