East Ayrshire Council, South Ayrshire Council and Dumfries and Galloway Council are exploring the principle of establishing a Biosphere Reserve for SW Scotland under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme.

This programme identifies areas across the world as centres of excellence for sustainable development, and would link this part of Scotland with such iconic world locations as Yosemite National Park in the USA, Ayers Rock in Australia and the Danube Delta in Europe.

Although initially motivated by rarity of landscape and ecology the programme now seeks to show how people can interact with this high quality environment to create sustainable communities and achieve sustainable economic growth.

The Steering Committee for the project is chaired by the Ayrshire Joint Planning Unit from whom further information can be obtained.