UNESCO lists mountainous site in Japan as biosphere reserve

The U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization on Wednesday added to its list of biosphere reserves the Kobushi mountain region straddling part of Tokyo and three other prefectures, Japanese officials said.As of July last year, 686 areas in 122 countries have been designated as biosphere reserves -- areas for harmonizing environmental preservation and human activity -- by the Paris-based U.N. organization, of which nine are in Japan.They are different from UNESCO world natural heritage sites and are called "UNESCO eco parks" in Japan. The latest decision was reached at a gatherin…READ FULL ARTICLE