Biosphere up for review

A Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation (NBRF) group is gathering data for its 10-year UN review as the foundation and Noosa Community Biosphere Association (NCBA) celebrate the 10th anniversary of Noosa’s biosphere status with a free community event on Monday 2 October.
NCBA president Annie Guthrie said the family day out will also mark Noosa Biosphere Day.
“Noosa Biosphere Day commemorates the significance of the global status handed down by UNESCO 10 years ago,” she said.
“The day is to celebrate our unique relationship with this beautiful place we’re so fortunate to call home.
Designation as a biosphere reserve status in 2007 provided global reward and recognition for the great environmental protection work the Noosa community had achieved over the past decades.
NBRF is required to submit its report on the 10-year review to the UNESCO in 2018, as part of meeting the guiding principles under the Man and the Biosphere (MaB) Program.
A NBRF spokesman said a Periodic Review Advisory Group (PRAG) was formed earlier this year and the group is now in the information-gathering phase, having “consulted with a number of key stakeholders including industry groups, individuals and community organisations”.
“Chair of the MaB Program Working Group in Australia, Professor Peter Bridgewater has twice visited Noosa to support the review process,” he said.
“Prof Bridgewater delivered two information sessions to the PRAG to assist with the review process and technical requirements”.
Noosa Biosphere Day will be a fun day out with free music and stage entertainment, kids activities, interactive workshops, a river walk and clean up, food vendors, native animals, and Floating Land art display.
Dr Leah Barclay’s Aurality App will offer an augmented reality with a biosphere soundscape audio experience dotted around Lions Park and Noosa River.
Local community groups and sustainable industries will be available to share information about the special qualities of our biosphere reserve.
“We will be making this day loads of fun but we also want to grow our understanding of what makes our biosphere reserve so special,” Annie said.
Noosa Biosphere Day will be held on the UN World Habitat Day, on the Queen’s Birthday holiday, Monday 2 October at Noosaville Lions Park.