Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound Biosphere Reserve, Canada

A short distance from Vancouver, the biosphere reserve encompasses the fjord and islands of Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound over a 218,723 ha, of which 16% are marine areas. This mountainous coastal ecosystem of great altitudinal range influenced by the Pacific Ocean, is home to high levels of biodiversity, with some 721 native terrestrial animal species including grizzly bears, wolverines and bald eagles. It also sustains thousands of marine species, including living glass sponge reefs, which were long thought to have gone extinct 40 million years ago. 

Átl’ka7tsem (pronounced At-Kat-sum) is the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh/ Squamish word for paddling up the Sound and First Nation people have prospered in the region since time immemorial. Link to UNESCO for all details