Transcending nature conservation in Italian UNESCO biosphere reserves

Combining, at least in its intentions, the natural and social sciences, UNESCO’s intergovernmental scientific programme ‘Man and the Biosphere’ has been promoting biosphere reserves (BRs) as learning places for sustainable development worldwide since the 1970s. In the European context, Italy is the second most represented country, with 21 BRs. These sites not only reflect the extreme diversity of Italy’s biocultural heritage but also rework and reinforce the dichotomy between natural and cultural heritage. This chapter presents a comprehensive and updated map of Italian BRs and discusses three ways of transcending nature conservation that currently occur in these peculiar sites of social nature production through and beyond nature conservation.