Isle of Wight UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

The Isle of Wight was awarded biosphere status in 2019 and is officially a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve making it only the seventh UK destination to be awarded this special award. So what does it really mean? And why did we get it? Read on…

Biosphere Reserves are designated by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, a global body that seeks to build peace through cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. The Island has been recognised for its combination of ecological and cultural diversity and its desire to see these qualities used to support a sustainable and resilient way of life for the people who live and work here. Biosphere Reserves are designated by UNESCO but rely on local cooperation to ensure the careful management of built and natural resources, creating better conditions for future generations. The Isle of Wight is one of over 700 World Biosphere Reserves recognised by UNESCO as a place where people and the environment are living together in an increasingly sustainable way. 

The Island is known as a place where the pressures of the 21st century slip away as you board the ferry and relax, heading towards a slower, yet creative way of life. Half of the Island is nationally recognised as an Isle of Wight National Landscape (formerly known as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and a great proportion of its coast is designated as Heritage Coast. See what makes the Isle of Wight so special and understand more about our biosphere status…

Our wildlife

Our woodland is nationally important and completely unique - where else in the UK do woodlands have red squirrels, hazel dormice, barbastelle, Bechstein batsa and deers without grey squirrels?

Our coasts are equally as important, as they provide a home to the Glanville fritillary butterfly, flora such as hoary stock and field cowwheat, birds such as ravens and peregrine falcons and a whole host of rare beetles and bees. Our grasslands hold stupendous numbers of blue butterflies including Adonis blue and Chalkhill blue, as well as the enigmatic reddish buff moth - the only place it lives in the UK. Otters are returning to our rivers, which also have populations of nationally important water voles, thriving without the threat of non-native mink.

Some of the best places to spot our rare wildlife include Alverstone Mead for Red Squirrels, Compton Bay for the Glanville Fritillary butterfly and Newtown Nature Reserve for a range of native and migrating birds.

Our history

The Island is rich in culture, built heritage and archaeology. A sailing paradise for princes, a prison for kings and a seaside retreat for queens, the Isle of Wight has inspired and been fought over for centuries. Coveted by the Romans and the French as an important strategic base, the Island boasts numerous defences including castles, forts and imposing country manors. The landscape has inspired both poets and artists – the Island’s coast is the second most painted after Cornwall – and attracted authors of a wide range of books including Alice in Wonderland, On the Origin of Species and Bleak House. The emerging creative industries on the Island are now a significant provider of employment and a new reason to come and enjoy the sights and sounds of artists, performers and cultural experiences.

Our landscape

The Channel Coast is a 50km coastline running from Culver in the east and around the south of the Island to The Needles in the west, opening directly onto the English Channel - a more exposed and energetic environment than the sheltered Solent. The Needles at Alum Bay are the Isle of Wight’s most photographed and iconic view. This row of three distinctive chalk stacks rising out of the sea were originally four stacks with the fourth, which collapsed in 1764, being needle-shaped and known as ‘Lot’s Wife’ after the pillars of salt bible story. The lighthouse at the base of the furthest rock began functioning in 1859 and was automated in 1994. From here, you can walk towards Tennyson Down past the Tennyson monument or face the other way and head to Alum Bay.

If fossil hunting is your thing, the soft cliffs at Yaverland and between Atherfield and Compton are the top spots. Here the famous Wealden Beds reveal extraordinary remains of dinosaurs such as Iguanodon, Spinosaurus and Ankylosaurus, making the Island the most important location for dinosaur discovery in Europe!

It’s not just our land that has received Biosphere status, our waters have too and in fact, make up over 60% of the whole designation. The Solent, stretching from The Needles to Hayling Island is one of the busiest commercial and recreational waterways in the world, with over 79,000 shipping movements, 1.2 million container movements and 170 cruise ship arrivals!  At the same time, it is one of the most important coastal wildlife sites in the UK, supporting hundreds of thousands of wading birds and wintering wildfowl across its estuaries and sheltered shores.

Our people 

Landowners and decision-makers on the Isle of Wight are increasingly respecting our fragile environment with a high uptake of government grants to both conserve and enhance nature. In the two years between 2021-23, farmers planted over 4km of new hedges under the ‘Farming in Protected Landscape’ programme. Both the National Trust and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust have removed land out of intensive agriculture and changed the management of the land to a more regenerative focus in order to allow nature to thrive. Schools, arts organisations and artists have worked together to produce immersive experiences for students and young people to increase confidence, reduce stress and anxiety and reconnect with nature and the environment.

To learn more about our Biosphere Reserve, visit the dedicated website here.