Coimbra, Portugal, March 30, 2026 (Lusa) – A Miguel Torga Higher Institute (ISMT – a private higher education school in Portugal) study found that Meseta Iberica, Geres/Xures and Tejo/Tajo Biosphere Reserve status is at risk because local hotels and restaurants fail to meet mandatory sustainability measures.
ISMT researchers in Coimbra found that accommodation and catering companies in those cross-border Biosphere Reserves "are not complying with mandatory sustainability measures UNESCO requires to maintain status in classified areas."
The institute said classification "does not only depend on preserved nature," but on "what hotels and restaurants do daily."
Research results show companies in the three Iberian reserves mostly apply simple, low-cost measures like waste separation and water saving.
"They rarely implement structural measures like renewable energy, process reorganisation or deep energy efficiency."
Study coordinator Maria Cunha warned that "if economic activities only apply basic measures, the territory may no longer fulfil the function for which it was classified."
"In a Biosphere Reserve, status depends on permanent compliance with international criteria: classification does not only depend on the state of nature, but it also depends on the functioning of the local economy," she said.
The study covered 30 micro-companies in the three cross-border Biosphere Reserves, including 14 hotels and 16 restaurants, mostly with teams of between four and six workers.
The analysis focused on four dimensions: energy efficiency, water use, waste management and sustainable purchasing.
Cunha said the problem does not stem from business resistance to environmental rules.
"What we found is a 'value-action gap' [a discrepancy between values and actions]: entrepreneurs and workers value sustainability and know good practices, but cannot apply them consistently in daily operation," she said.
She explained that "many micro-companies do not have the administrative structure to access support, nor technical monitoring to change processes." She noted that "intention exists, but operational capacity is lacking."
The discrepancy is also evident in customer perception: visitors recognise environmental concerns but say they only occasionally observe these practices during their stay.
The study concluded that addressing the situation depends on effectively applying existing rules, including technical support, financial incentives, regular inspections, and clearer communication with visitors, to reduce the value-action gap.
Biosphere Reserves are part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme and face international reviews every 10 years.
Verification focuses mainly on the territory's ecological state, including habitats, water, and landscape. The institute added that national and regional entities monitor the daily operation of economic activities much less systematically.
Classification works as an international seal of environmental trust and directly influences tourism. The institute said the destination's value decreases when the visitor experience does not match the sustainability promise.
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