By JONATHON HOWARD
FOUR more directors of the Noosa Biosphere Limited (NBL) have resigned from the governance board this week, including the highly regarded Dr Leah Barclay.
Their resignations have all occurred since Noosa Council announced its intention to replace the NBL model with a management structure from November this year.
Category three directors, each representing one of six community sector boards, had been operating under the NBL umbrella since 2008.
The directors are Mary-Jane Weld (represented the Environment Sector board since 2009, director since 2011), Dr Leah Barclay (inaugural Cultural Sector board chair in 2008, director since 2010), Kate Crawford (represented the Social Sector board since 2012, director since 2013), and Peter Homan (represented Tourism Noosa, director since 2008).
The Noosa Council advised in their recent working party report that Tourism Noosa will no longer be regarded as a biosphere sector board, however, it is expected that the council will move to ensure that this and other vacancies are filled temporarily.
Dr Leah Barclay labelled the restructure as “completely misguided” and “failed to recognise the value of the community that is at the heart of NBL”.
She said “fortunately” a Biosphere Reserve was not defined by its corporate identity or governance structure, but, rather, by “a passionate community of people who are inspired to explore new approaches to the conservation of biological and cultural diversity”.
Dr Barclay recently returned from the USA, where she has been working with six UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Arizona, California and New Mexico, exploring the value of rich media environments and digital technology in facilitating environmental awareness and engagement.
The results from her research will be presented in Europe next month and at the International World Parks Congress in Sydney later this year.
Dr Barclay said her resignation would not change her commitment to the Noosa Biosphere Reserve and her mission to connect the region with other like-minded Biosphere Reserves across the world would continue.
She joined leaders in Melbourne to receive personal training from former US Vice President Al Gore and become a Climate Leader with Mr Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
