ABSTRACT

Biosphere Reserves are learning sites for sustainable development. Although based on specific UNESCO criteria, implementation varies to accommodate regional and national circumstances. The Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, was designated as an ‘entire nation’ biosphere in 2016 and is governed through a stakeholder partnership, led by the Isle of Man Government Department for Environment, Food and Agriculture. This paper introduces the characteristics of this unique entire nation model based on qualitative interviews that were used to examine the perceptions of the biosphere’s stakeholder partnership. Findings from the research illustrate that stakeholders understand the designation as a ‘holistic’ approach to sustainable development and use the discourse of ‘finding balance’ across sectors. Stakeholders also conveyed some tensions regarding how the biosphere can be interpreted as a reward for the status quo and/or an incentive for change, connected to how the designation is led from within government. The paper concludes that whilst there are circumstances unique to the Isle of Man, many of the challenges perceived by stakeholders are also common to the biosphere model in general.

摘要

生物圈保护区是可持续发展的学习场所。虽然基于特定的教科文组织标准，但实施会因地区和国家情况而异。位于爱尔兰海的马恩岛于 2016 年被指定为“全国”生物圈，并通过由马恩岛政府环境、食品和农业部牵头的利益相关者伙伴关系进行管理。本文基于定性访谈介绍了这种独特的全国模式的特征，这些访谈用于检验对生物圈利益相关者伙伴关系的看法。研究结果表明，利益相关者将指定理解为可持续发展的“整体”方法，并使用跨部门“寻找平衡”的话语。利益相关者还对生物圈如何被解释为对现状的奖励和/或变革的激励表达了一些紧张情绪，这与政府内部如何领导指定有关。该文件的结论是，虽然马恩岛存在独特的情况，但利益相关者认为的许多挑战对于一般的生物圈模型也是常见的。