Environment

Gympie Region is located within the Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve. It adjoins 2 other UNESCO Biospheres, Noosa and Sunshine Coast; the only 3 adjacent  UNESCO Biospheres in the world.

Renowned for its cultural and ecological significance, the reserve contains the Great Sandy Strait, a Ramsar-listed wetland, and K'gari, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the largest Sand Island and coastal sand mass in the world. 

Great Sandy within the ‘McPherson-McLeay Overlap Zone’, an area containing one of the largest amounts of endemic species with a high level of genetic variety. It a hotspot of biodiversity, serving as the southern limit for many subtropical species and the northern limit for many temperate species.

In the Great Sandy Biosphere region there are 53 species of migratory birds listed under the Australian Government’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The Great Sandy Biosphere has 46 species of birds listed under the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement. This represents 57% of the total number of birds under the agreement.

The biosphere reserve has a volcanic hinterland with Mount Mothar representing the highest elevation (450 metres above sea level).