World heritage sites identified by the IUCN as worthy for national park or wildlife refuge status because of high biological diversity or unique ecological features.

Internationally recognized areas within UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program that promote a balanced relationship between people and nature to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. In September, 2001, there were 411 biosphere reserves in 94 countries.

Representative examples of landscapes, each with their characteristic plants, animals and human uses, which have been given an international designation under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), launched in November l97l by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Each biosphere reserve is made up of a protected "core" of undisturbed landscape (such as a national park), together with nearby areas showing some of the ways in which once-similar landscapes are being managed to meet human needs.