Biodiversity and cultural diversity - key elements for sustainable development

Abstract

In our world today of rapid changes, biological diversity and cultural diversity are increasingly recognized as key elements for sustainable development. Dedicated to strike for a balance between conservation and development, biosphere reserves serve as testing sites to seal the link between these two
keys. In Vietnam, eleven recognized World Biosphere Reserves is also the home of many people including thousands of people belong to different ethnic minority groups. Each group has their own ways of living, which reflect their unique understandings and interpretations of the nature accumulated through their hundreds of years residing in these sites. While these minority groups are often vulnerable to the pressure of development from outside, their identity and cultural values embrace with a rich knowledge of the nature are foundation not only to their endogenous development but also to the conservation of these sites as our common home.