Mount Kilimanjaro with Cape buffalo in foreground, Amboseli Biosphere Reserve, Kenya

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An experiment in sustainability. International Day for Biosphere Reserves

UNESCO designated November 3, 2022, the first annual International Day for Biosphere Reserves. Biosphere reserves are vast areas around the world used to promote biodiversity, cultural diversity, environmentally sustainable economic development, and research and education on how humans can coexist with nature.

The Amboseli Biosphere Reserve, which we feature today, is located on the Kenyan side of Mount Kilimanjaro and includes an amazing variety of ecological zones, including dry mountain forest, mountains, savannah rangelands, wetlands, and swamps. Elephants, lions, and giraffes make their home in the Amboseli. Designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1980, Amboseli was a focus of a U.N.-sponsored program to ensure the long-term conservation of biodiversity in the area, partly by involving the local population in sustainable use.