Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve

Last updated

Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve
Queensland
Australia Queensland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve
Nearest town or city Hervey Bay [1]
Coordinates 25°22′58.656″S152°49′39.828″E / 25.38296000°S 152.82773000°E / -25.38296000; 152.82773000
Established1977 [2]
Area12,422.16 [2]
Visitation950,000 (annual estimate) (in 2016) [2]
Website Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve
FootnotesCoordinates [2]

Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Australian state of Queensland located on land and coastal waters associated both with the local government areas of the Fraser Coast Region and the Gympie Region and Fraser Island (also known as K'Gari and Gari), and with the bay known as Hervey Bay. [1]

Contents

The biosphere reserve was described by UNESCO in 2016 as: [2]

The Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve is located in the Southeast Queensland Bioregion in eastern Australia. Renowned for its cultural and ecological significance, the reserve contains the Great Sandy Strait, a Ramsar-listed wetland, and Fraser Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The reserve incorporates the largest Sand Island and coastal sand mass in the world.

The biosphere reserve was established in 2009 and its managing authorities are reported as being the Burnett Mary Regional Group for Natural Resource Management Ltd., the Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the local government areas of the Fraser Coast Region and the Gympie Region. [2] [3]

The reserve is a volcanic area and the highest peak in its vicinity is Mount Mothar (450 metres above sea level). There are 6 rivers flowing through the reserve and it is known for being home to the world's tallest and richest rainforest growing on sand. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected areas of Australia</span> Protected areas in Australia

Protected areas of Australia include Commonwealth and off-shore protected areas managed by the Australian government, as well as protected areas within each of the six states of Australia and two self-governing territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, which are managed by the eight state and territory governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Sandy National Park</span> Protected area in Queensland, Australia

Great Sandy National Park is a coastal national park in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K'gari</span> Sand island in Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia

K'gari, also known by its former name Fraser Island, is a World Heritage-listed sand island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The island lies approximately 250 km (160 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser Coast Region local council area. The world heritage listing includes the island, its surrounding waters and parts of the nearby mainland which make up the Great Sandy National Park. In the 2021 census, the island had a population of 152 people. Up to 500,000 people visit the island each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inskip Point</span>

Inskip Point is a peninsula in the north of the locality of Inskip to the north of the town of Rainbow Beach in south-east Queensland, Australia. It is the vehicular gateway to Fraser Island, a popular recreational area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cascade Head</span> Coastal landform in the U.S. state of Oregon

Cascade Head is a headland and 102,110-acre (41,320 ha) United States Forest Service Experimental Forest and part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It is situated 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Portland, Oregon on the Oregon Coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin. Cascade Head Preserve is a Nature Conservancy Selected Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Gate Biosphere Network</span>

The Golden Gate Biosphere Network is a voluntary coalition of federal, state and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and private partners within the Golden Gate Biosphere region. The Network aims to protect the region's biodiversity and conserve its natural resources. The Network has been part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme since 1988.GGBN is also part of the US Biosphere Network as well as EuroMAB. It is recognized by UNESCO for its "significance for biological diversity conversation" and organizational efforts involving municipal authorities and private interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regions of Queensland</span>

The Regions of Queensland refer to the geographic areas of the Australian state of Queensland. Due to its large size and decentralised population, the state is often divided into regions for statistical and administrative purposes. Each region varies somewhat in terms of its economy, population, climate, geography, flora and fauna. Cultural and official perceptions and definitions of the various regions differ somewhat depending on the government agency or popular group by which they are being applied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary River (Queensland)</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Mary River is a major river system in the South East and Wide Bay–Burnett regions of Queensland, Australia. The Mary River is unique in that it flows south to north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Sandy Strait</span> Suburb of Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia

The Great Sandy Strait is a strait in the Australian state of Queensland of 70 kilometres (43 mi) length which separates mainland Queensland from K'gari. It is also a locality in the Fraser Coast Region local government area. To the north of the strait is Hervey Bay. In the 2021 census, Great Sandy Strait had "no people or a very low population".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow Beach, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Rainbow Beach is a coastal rural town and locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Rainbow Beach had a population of 1,220 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin Can Bay, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Tin Can Bay is a coastal town and locality in the Wide Bay–Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. The locality is split between the Fraser Coast Region and the Gympie Region, but the town itself is within Gympie Region. In the 2021 census, the locality of Tin Can Bay had a population of 2,293 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser Coast Region</span> Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Fraser Coast Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the twin cities of Hervey Bay and Maryborough and also contains K'gari. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Cities of Maryborough and Hervey Bay and the Shires of Woocoo and most of Tiaro. The resident population at the 2021 census was 111,032 and the estimated population in 2023 was 117,940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gympie Region</span> Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Gympie Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is between the Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay and centred on the town of Gympie. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shires of Cooloola and Kilkivan and part of the Shire of Tiaro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tweed-Moreton</span> Marine biogeographic region in Australia

Tweed–Moreton, also known as the Central Eastern Shelf Transition, is a marine biogeographic region of eastern Australia.

Under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme, there are 142 biosphere reserves recognized as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Asia and the Pacific as of April 2016. These are distributed across 24 countries in the region.

Under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme, there are 308 biosphere reserves recognized as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Europe and North America. These are distributed across 41 countries in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Queensland</span>

The geography of Queensland in the north-east of Australia, is varied. It includes tropical islands, sandy beaches, flat river plains that flood after monsoon rains, tracts of rough, elevated terrain, dry deserts, rich agricultural belts and densely populated urban areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide Bay–Burnett</span> Region in Queensland, Australia

Wide Bay–Burnett is a region of the Australian state of Queensland, located between 170–400 km (110–250 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The area's population growth has exceeded the state average over the past 20 years, and it is forecast to grow to more than 430,000 by 2031. It is the subject of the Draft Wide Bay–Burnett Regional Plan, which aims to facilitate this growth while protecting over 90% of the region from urban development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalnevostochny Morskoy Nature Reserve</span> Nature reserve in Primorsky Krai, Russia

Dalnevostochny Morskoy Nature Reserve is Russia's first marine reserve, covering large portions of the sea and 30 islands in Peter the Great Gulf, on the west side of the Sea of Japan. It has the highest class of environmental protection as a federal 'zapovednik'. There are four distinct areas with different biological and protection regimes, covering 63,000 ha (240 sq mi) of sea area, additional land on included islands, a 500-meter conservation strip of coastline along the marine area, and a conservation buffer zone inland to a width of 3 miles. The reserve is situated on the continental coast south of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East. The administrative district is Khasansky District of Primorsky Krai. It was formally established in 1978. The reserve is part of the UNESCO "Far East Reserve" MAB Biosphere Reserve, noted for its protection of marine biodiversity, and as a re-population area for open seas fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve</span> Protected area in Victoria, Australia

Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Australian state of Victoria located on land and coastal waters associated both with the Mornington Peninsula and the bay known as Western Port.

References

  1. 1 2 "Proposed Great Sandy Biosphere in an Australian context" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Great Sandy". Man and the Biosphere Programme. UNESCO. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. "Australia". Man and the Biosphere Programme. UNESCO. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. "Ecological Characteristics". UNESCO.