Biosphere reserves are extremely important sites due to their high ecological, cultural, economic and social value. They are officially recognised through the Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme – a collaboration between UNESCO and national governments.   

This international organisation currently recognises 748 biosphere reserves in 134 countries. These sites cover a total area of 7 million square kilometres – almost the size of Australia – representing around 3.5% of the Earth’s surface. But despite their importance, these ecosystems lack visibility, knowledge sharing and management tools.  The managers of these biospheres are struggling to roll out their development plans and even to demonstrate their value.  

With exactly this aim in mind, an initiative led by two professors from NOVA FCSH (University of Lisbon) and the University of Coimbra (Faculty of Science and Technology) launched a project to showcase Portugal’s 12 biosphere reserves. 

In Portugal, Axians was selected in June 2022 to develop the digital platform for the UNESCO-supported “Biosphere Reserves: sustainable sites and resilient communities” project. Axians teams created a pioneering digital platform for this complex assignment involving two universities, the MAB Committee and UNESCO, among others.  In addition to boosting the visibility of these high-value sites with unique cultural and natural heritage, the portal provides information essential for their sustainable management. 

The Reservas de Biosfera Portugal platform was officially launched by the Portuguese government on 28 September 2023. It includes a portal showing details of the project’s commitments, the Portuguese reserves, their communities, their history, and their natural and cultural heritage. Each reserve also has its own dedicated area and CMS (content management system) for managing this. Cloud infrastructure hosts all the information and data collected from the sites and makes them available in 20 interactive dashboards packed with 350 indicators, along with two interactive maps highlighting the reserves’ cultural and natural heritage.