Social, Environmental, and Economic Fundamentals for the Development of a Biosphere Reserve in the Mining Area of South Ural

The paper dwells upon the theoretical foundations and practical issues of the development of a biosphere reserve as a component of a major social, environmental, and economic system. Mining South Ural is a biosphere reserve that is cited as an example of how the success of its development depends on the opportunity and adequacy of adapting the requirements of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves regulations (the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program) to the historical specific issues of the reserve and its surrounding areas. Particular attention is paid to the specific matters of how the biosphere reserve has been formed under the conditions of the spatial integration of natural and urbanized areas of the old industrial region. The paper demonstrates the specifics of creating project-based solutions and drafting a biosphere reserve management plan for industrially developed areas.