The Austrian Biosphere Reserves. A (connoisseur’s) world beyond the cookery book Günter Köck, Martha Umhack & Christian Diry Keywords: UNESCO, Man and the Biosphere Programme, biosphere reserves, sustainable development, school initiative Abstract In many instances the Austrian UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as model regions of sustainable development are outshone by other conservation categories, such as national parks or world heritage sites, and are largely unknown to the wider population. This shadowy existence is ill deserved. The modern concept of biosphere reserves (BRs) is more important today than it ever was if we want to maintain valu- able cultural landscapes for later generations. The Austrian MAB National Commit- tee therefore made it a priority to greatly increase the popularity of our BRs and to underline their significance for sustainability research. Moreover, efforts in this vein should involve young people. The project Vielfalt Genießen (Enjoying diversity) has been conceived as a three-stage programme, starting with a schools competition during the International Year of Biodiversity 2010, followed by the publication of an award-winning cookery book (The Austrian Biosphere Reserves. A Connoisseur’s World) and culminating in a BR training for students, lasting more than a year, car- ried out at the Landesberufsschule Waldegg (vocational college for the hotel and catering trades) and complemented with BR-related activities (BR recipes, information folder) in selected restaurants around Wienerwald BR. Management & Policy Issues eco.mont - Volume 5, Number 2, December 2013 ISSN 2073-106X print version ISSN 2073-1558 online version: http://epub.oeaw.ac.at/eco.mont 59 Profile Protected area Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve Mountain range Alps Country Austria Background In 2011 the research programme Man and the Bio- sphere (MAB) celebrated its 40 th anniversary, which makes it one of the longest-standing UNESCO pro- grammes. A key component of the MAB programme is the global network of UNESCO BRs (currently 621 BRs in 117 countries, with 7 BRs in Austria), where models of sustainable development, combined with environmental protection, are developed, tried and tested, and then implemented in cooperation with the regional population. And yet, UNESCO BRs as model regions and educational sites for sustainable development, unlike other conservation categories, such as national parks or world heritage sites, are often largely unknown to the wider population (Lange 2005; Schrader 2006; Coetzer et al. 2013). Why is this shadowy existence?          national park, Yellowstone National Park in the USA, was founded in 1872, BRs have only been around for just under 40 years. Famous tourist destinations, such as Kruger National Park in South Africa or Galapagos National Park in Ecuador, have contributed to turning the national park label into a world-famous brand. A similar development took place with UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS). Here, too, legendary destina- - litical role of the WHS label combined to enhance its popularity, which greatly outstrips that of the in-house Biosphere Reserve brand. Added complications emerge when in certain regions, in Austria for instance in the Lake Neusiedl region, all three categories overlap. Ad- vertising efforts usually focus on the best-known label Figure 1 – Detail of the Vielfalt Geniessen Flyer (Enjoying diversity). and can often lead to contraproductive competition between champions of each conservation category. It is not surprising therefore that such a situation leads to confusion, misunderstandings and, in the worst cases, to indifference in the population. Let me quote an ex- ample from my own work: when I travelled to the 21 st MAB-ICC 2009 on the South-Korean island of Jeju, the announcement on the plane just before landing pointed out that we were approaching the WHS Jeju. At the conference itself, many MAB representatives  omitted the information that Jeju is also a BR. Here, too, the reason was probably the much higher popular- ity and status of the WHS label.