Large scale protected areas have been considered as a promising way of nature protection. Its management, however, depends to a great extent on the way in which potential conflicts between nature protection measures and socio-economic aspirations of local population are treated. In this context the concept of biosphere reserve, as it was articulated in Sevilla in 1995, is suggested as an efficient tool to achieve the consensus among individual stakeholders. In order to find to which extent to concept has been practically implemented within ten years since its inception, three Czech biosphere reserves were analysed in a view of four missions biosphere reserves are expected to fulfil. The accomplished analysis seems to prove the fact that the present day Czech legislation enables three of the missions to be achieved, whereas the fourth – promotion of sustainable development – is more or less hindered.