What is the SAMAB Program?

It is a public/private partnership that focuses its attention on the Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve. The program encourages the utilization of ecosystem and adaptive management principles. The vision of the program is to:

promote the achievement of a sustainable balance between the conservation of biological diversity, compatible economic uses and cultural values across the Southern Appalachians. This balance will be achieved by collaborating with stakeholders through information gathering and sharing, integrated assessments, and demonstration projects directed toward the solution of critical regional issues.

The Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) was established in 1971 (by the United Nations Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)) on the premise that a balance can be sustained between conservation of biological diversity, economic development and cultural values. In 1976, UNESCO designated 59 biosphere reserves in eight countries; two of those were in Southern Appalachia -- the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory.