Biosphere Reserves - UNESCO Deutschland

Whether or not we can avoid a climate
disaster is, not least, dependent on
whether places exist, which are setting
new trends. One example is California,
a place which inspires collective creativity,
for example by passing the recent
powerful climate protection law.
There have to be places where new
transport-technologies are tested and developed
which in turn, encourage the use
of such technologies in other parts of the
world. In this regard, the German automotive
industry definitely was too passive
for too many years while others successfully
took up the challenges of the future.
Stop the meltwater
Biosphere reserves could become
trendsetters, being just the places, which
spread the idea of provision for the future
and of a sustainable development across
the entire planet. Yet, ideas do not suffice,
appropriate institutions are needed.
Many public pension schemes and health
care systems are not effective because
Photo © flickr Creative Commons: frans Neve
we do not seriously address the issue as
to which institutions are best suited to
deal with such complex long-term issues;
the same applies to climate change.
Biosphere reserves can become
institutions, which take on the tasks
of sustainable development. They can
become places for social learning. They
are already education sites for sustainable
development, which could have a
far-reaching effect – from the neighbourhood
to the global network. In this way,
each individual biosphere reserve can
make a contribution by making sure
that the meltwater in Greenland and
the Antarctic in time ceases to flow.
Prof. Dr. Carlo Jaeger is Professor for
Modelling Social Systems at the Department
of Economics, University of Potsdam and
Head of the Department of Global Change
and Social Systems at the Potsdam Institute
for Climate Impact Research. This contribution
is based on his talk at the Potsdam Climate
Conference in 2006, which was entitled
‘How can biosphere reserves contribute to
climate protection?’.
We need places to set trends