In the 1970s a different concept was proposed: the biosphere reserve. The main objective of this system was to involve communities in conservation rather than exclude them. The model includes a core area with access and uses restricted surrounded by a buffer zone where activities are sustainable.

In Mexico, the driving force behind Biosphere Reserves was the programme "Man and the Biosphere” by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO in the 70's. The first reserves to be set up were Michilía Mapimí in Durango and Montes Azules in Chiapas.

At the end of the 1970's, the scientific community realized that many protected areas had problems. First, they were being isolated, surrounded by a sea of cultivated land. Protected areas, isolated without the possibility of recolonization, began to lose species. Secondly, the criteria by which they had been created were not fully compatible with biodiversity conservation. Many protected areas did not have the sufficient size to maintain viable populations of species with large space requirements such as some of the predators (e.g., eagle and jaguar).

In some cases larger areas were created, while in others, arrangements were made with neighbours to increase the effective area of conservation (Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem) . In others, attempts to maintain connectivity of the landscape were made through brokers.

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