Councillors believe it would be “a travesty” if Galloway lost its biosphere status.
The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere was established in 2012 – the first area in Scotland to receive such a designation.
To keep that status, it is required to submit a periodic review every 10 years to UNESCO’s International Co-ordinating Council, with a decision due in the summer.
And Councillor Katie Hagmann, who previously sat on the biosphere’s partnership board, told the economy and resources committee on Tuesday: “We will keep our fingers crossed for the UNESCO designation.
“If we don’t get it, I think it will be a travesty and real loss to the region.”
An existing “service level agreement” between the council and the biosphere team was due to come to an end this month, but committee members agreed for it to be extended for another five years.
A report for Tuesday’s meeting highlighted some of the recent achievements of the biosphere team, including creating a learning for sustainability toolkit for primary schools and connecting with communities in Gatehouse and Creetown through guided walks and events looking at their links with a nearby national nature reserve.
The new service level agreement will cover three key areas – sustainable communities, biosphere towns and cross-border working involving the three local authorities covered by the biosphere, which are Dumfries and Galloway and East and South Ayrshire.
The two Ayrshire councils will each be asked for £25,000 for each of the next five years, with Dumfries and Galloway asked for £30,000.
Councillor Sean Marshall questioned why Dumfries and Galloway was being asked to put in more funding.
Environment manager, Simon Fieldhouse, said: “It is just due to the geographic area covered.
“Around 60 to 65 per cent of the biosphere area is within Dumfries and Galloway – as such, we have the opportunity for more activity to be undertaken here.
“We also have the biosphere looking to establish its offices in Dalry within Dumfries and Galloway rather than the other two local authorities.”
Councillor Marshall replied: “It sounds as though we are getting a pretty good deal if the other two councils are putting in £25,000 but we have the majority in our area.”
Councillors agreed to provide £20,000 from environment service funding, with a further report going to the finance, transformation and procurement committee for an additional £10,000, meaning there would be £30,000 of financial support each year for the next five years.
The report also revealed that in December 2020, South of Scotland Enterprise agreed to provide the biosphere with £1.9 million until March 2025 – conditional on other partners such as councils remaining involved.
It is expected that amount is likely to reduce from 2025.
A decision on the review is expected in June.
