As one of UNESCO’s three key site-based designations, the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (BRs) integrates conservation and development, setting it apart from traditional Protected Areas (PAs). Yet its conservation effectiveness and role in advancing the global biodiversity agenda remain underexplored. This evidence-based global assessment of BRs’ effectiveness and potential in supporting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) indicates that generally BRs maintained habitat quality not lower than that of PAs, with region-specific instances where BRs surpassed sites in IUCN Categories IV-VI. Including BRs—typically omitted from global conservation statistics—into conservation efforts increased terrestrial coverage for KMGBF Target 3 from 16.57% to 19.65%. With effective implementation, integration of BRs into the global area-based conservation network would produce measurable coverage gains across six KMGBF-linked opportunity templates, including +8.47% for Biodiversity Hotspots (per Target 1), +4.05% for Risk Ecoregions (per Target 2), +7.01% for Phylogenetic Diversity hotspots (per Target 4), +7.25% for areas of high Traded Functional Diversity (per Target 5), +4.37% for regions of High Biomass Carbon (per Target 8), and +1.95% for globally Indigenous Lands (per Target 22). Based on integrated assessments of conservation value and coverage rate, 17 Udvardy’s Biogeographical Provinces were identified as post-2025 WNBR expansion priorities that align with the KMGBF and the Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan (2026–2035).

biosphere reserves,protected areas,biodiversity,conservation,Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework