Noosa Biosphere®

Lake Weyba

Photographer Patrick Oberem

More than 40 years of the Noosa community working together to live sustainably with the natural environment was recognised on 20th September 2007 with designation of the Noosa Biosphere® Reserve under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MaB) program.

The Noosa Biosphere® Reserve encompasses a total of 87,000 hectares of land and numerous waterways within the Noosa local government boundaries, and extends approximately 3km seawards.

While the designation recognises the unique and special natural attributes of the Noosa Biosphere® Reserve, it also provides a focus for the Noosa community’s aspirations to continue to strive for a sustainable future, to work together to build economies, communities, and knowledge and to ensure our natural ecosystems and biodiversity is valued, cared for, improved and conserved.

Noosa Biosphere® Reserve Management

A new Noosa Biosphere® Reserve governance framework was developed in 2014 following extensive community consultation. The previous model was based around a Council-owned company with a board of directors and a series of community boards covering key sectors. The aim of the review was to put in place a truly community-owned framework to continue to realise the community’s aspirations for a sustainable future.

The new structure includes the Noosa Biosphere® Reserve Public Trust (PDF) with a company, the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation Ltd, as trustees. The Foundation has 8 directors, with the founding member Noosa Council having 1 director, making the arrangement independent of Council. 

For more detailed information please visit Noosa Biosphere® Reserve

For information on biosphere reserves generally – go to Frequently Asked Questions - Biosphere Reserves.

Noosa Biosphere® is a registered trademark of Noosa Council.