Graciosa Island celebrated this month 15 years as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Together with the island of Corvo, this was the first island of the Azores to receive this classification and the third area in Portugal.
Thus, Graciosa has been a Biosphere Reserve since 2007 and, in celebration of this milestone, several activities were carried out with the purpose of raising awareness about the importance of environmental protection, in order to maintain and preserve the natural and cultural heritage in a sustainable way.
A webinar was held with the theme “One territory, two Unesco classifications”, a bicycle trail with a route through the island’s geosites, several lectures, such as: “15 years of Graciosa Biosphere Reserve”, given by Alonso Miguel, Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change; “Biosphere Reserves – Sustainable Territories, Resilient Communities”; “The Biosphere Reserves and Regional Development”.
Currently, Portugal has 12 Unesco Biosphere Reserves, 4 of which are in the Azores archipelago, on the islands of Corvo, Graciosa, Flores, and São Jorge.
