Noosa Biosphere Reserve

Noosa Biosphere Reserve is an internationally protected area covering the region of Noosa in Queensland, Australia. It is formally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program for its highly diverse ecosystem over a relatively small space. It was the first Biosphere Reserve for the state of Queensland, established in September 2007. The reserve is bound by the former Noosa Shire Council boundaries, extending offshore by, covering in total. It is governed by Noosa Biosphere Limited (NBL), a not-for-profit company, which mainly consists of members from the local community who fulfil roles in the governance board, sector boards, and partnerships. Community plays a significant role in the implementation of the Biosphere Reserve guidelines.EcologyNoosa Biosphere Reserve is located in the Macpherson-Macleay overlap, where tropical and temperate zones overlap. The landscape has an extensive composition of rainforests, beaches, woodlands, wetlands, lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains. The Noosa region provides an extremely accommodating landscape for both flora and fauna due to its location in the intersection of the Torresian and Bassian biogeographic regions. It is a major centre of species richness and endemism, supporting speciation and biodiversity.The reserve includes the following National Parks - Noosa National Park, Noosa River National Park, Great Sandy National Park and Mount Pinbarren National Park. Three State Forests exist: Ringtail, Yurol, and Toolara. Four Forest Reserves exist in this area, including Tewantin Forest Reserve, Woondum Forest Reserve, Noosa Forest Reserve, Tuchekoi Forest Reserve. Nine Conservation Parks are part of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve, and focus on the following areas: Mt Cooroy, Tuchekoi, Harry and Gladys Spring, Cooloothin, Sheep Island, Keyser Island, Weyber Creek, Goat Island, and Six-Mile Creek. The following eight nature refuges are included in the protection plan: Arthur Harrold, Bill Huxley, Pender Scrub, Burrawingee, Hilltop, Una and Harold Corbold, Giraween, and Schreibers Road, Cooran. In addition to this, Cooloola (Noosa River) Resource Reserve and Great Sandy Resource Reserve are also included in the region.