Under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme, there are 308 biosphere reserves recognized as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Europe and North America (as of May 2023). These are distributed across 41 countries in the region. Biosphere reserves operating under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme aim to achieve three mandate management objectives of conservation, sustainable socio-economic development, and logistic support.

The list

Below is the list of biosphere reserves in Europe and North America, organized by country/territory, along with the year these were designated as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The list does not include the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean, a biosphere reserve shared between Morocco and Spain, which has been classified as part of the Arab States region.

Albania

Austria

Belarus

Bulgaria

Canada

Croatia

Czech Republic

Czech Republic and Poland

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

France and Germany

France and Italy

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Isle of Man

Israel

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Montenegro

Netherlands

North Macedonia

Poland

Portugal

Portugal and Spain

Romania

Romania and Ukraine

Russian Federation

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

United States

The US Biosphere Network (USBN) consists of 28 internationally recognized biosphere regions across the continental United States, the US Caribbean, Alaska, and Hawai’i. In 2021, the USBN adopted the term biosphere regions instead of biosphere reserves. The mission of the USBN is to foster national and international connections among biosphere regions, to facilitate their sharing of best practices, and to support their work toward connecting people and nature.