More progress needs to be made in including participatory and institutional approaches that address equity issues in the National Biodiversity Strategy framework. The NPBB is made up of 32 representatives, one-third of whom represent the government, one-third local government and the other third academia and NGOs. For example, Mount Carmel was declared a Biosphere Reserve in April 1996, within the framework of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme. Other areas considered appropriate to be declared biosphere reserves include Mount Meron in northern Israel and the Judean Hills area in the transition zone between the Mediterranean Sea and the desert biome.