Covers environmental research and monitoring activities, the embryonic global network of monitoring stations, public participation in biosphere reserve research and management, and the creation of new arctic reserves. Introduction by Norman Simmons. Welcoming Address by Bernie Lieff. Papers by A. Hodgson; G. Bruce Wiersma; Y.G. Puzachenko and Y.I. Chernov; Hugh J. Monaghan; S. Khromov; Lars Påhlsson; and Milton Freeman. Discusion by: Lorne Russell; Percy Sims; Julian Inglis; and Nancy A. McMinn

Norman Simmons was the Coordinator of Biosphere Reserves Theme UNESCO/MAB Northern Science Network. Milton Freeman was the Chairman of UNESCO/MAB Northern Science Network, Boreal Institute for Northern Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Julian Inglis taught at the University of Highlands and Islands. He was also the Executive Director of The International Program on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario.