Conservation Values & Sustainable Development Challenges

Conservation values

Our Biosphere's conservation function is to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation.

The Biosphere contains a unique combination of biological values of international, national, regional and local conservation significance.

International conservation significance:

Western Port, an area of great biological diversity due to its unusually wide range of habitat types. These range from deep channels to seagrass meadows, mangroves, saltmarsh and melaleuca thickets. It supports a large number of marine invertebrates and about 65% of Victoria’s bird species.
Western Port is listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as waterfowl habitat (Ramsar Convention). Many of the migratory birds using the area are listed under international agreements, including JAMBA, CAMBA and the Bonn Agreement.

National conservation significance:

French Island, especially the national park area, which is relatively undisturbed and provides a continuous range of fox-free habitats.
Many significant indigenous plant species and communities, including rare, threatened and vulnerable species.
Numerous sites of geomorphological significance.
Sites of zoological significance, including breeding colonies of the Little Penguin, Koala, Australian Fur Seal, Hooded Plover and Short-tailed Shearwater.

Regional conservation significance:

Regionally important remnant indigenous vegetation in small reservations and on private land.
Highly scenic landscape values and sites of historic importance.

Further information on the conservation values of the Biosphere is available in the Stage 1 Nomination to UNESCO (PDF 4 MB) — in particular, section 13 and appendices 1–3 (species lists).

The Biosphere contains core and buffer zones comprising national parks, state parks, a nature park and other conservation reserves, all reserved in public ownership — see map of zones (PDF 683 KB). These areas have outstanding natural and cultural values. The interior sections of the larger parts of these reserves are the core areas of the Biosphere. Each core area is bounded by a buffer area for protection. Buffer areas also include small, isolated reserves or long, narrow strips of reserved land, especially in coastal areas. The remainder of the Biosphere forms the transition zone.

The Biosphere Foundation seeks to enhance the conservation of biological values within the Biosphere by further integrating the management of the core areas, where many of the high biological values are located, with the protection provided by the buffer areas.

The Biosphere Foundation also seeks to facilitate conservation by encouraging sustainable development and use practices in the transition zone, which is experiencing enormous pressures from urban growth and industrial expansion.

Sustainable development challenges

Our Biosphere's development function is to foster economic and human development that is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable.

The aim is to develop social capital involving information exchange, education, research, evaluation, communication and environmental monitoring. The potential for this is enhanced by the national importance of the area for industry, port operations, fishing, agriculture, tourism, and major growth corridors for urban development. For example, ecotourism, renewable resource development, sustainable agriculture, biodynamic farms, mixed forest plantations and bioceutical products can foster human development in a sustainable manner.

The major issues in the Biosphere are about the pressure that human developments place on the area’s ecosystems, on which the regional productivity, people’s wealth and lifestyles depend. These interrelated issues include:

Threat of pollution and waste (land, water and air)
Deterioration in water quality
Land degradation
Loss of indigenous vegetation
Introduction of exotic terrestrial and marine organisms
Impacts of climate change (storm surge, coastal inundation and erosion; inland flooding; increased fire risk; threats to human health, water supplies and infrastructure; and pressure on biodiversity)
Coastal erosion, inappropriate drainage and poor water quality, which adversely impacts on the natural values of Western Port and Port Phillip Bay
Disruption to marine habitat, loss of seagrass and reduction in fish stocks
Unemployment
Balance between urbanisation and maintenance of rural character and landscape quality in coastal areas
Protection of natural resources, including farmland, from inappropriate urban development
Identification and preservation of land stocks for urban development
Identification of future port-related land and infrastructure requirements, and the need to ensure that further port development is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable
Impacts from industrial and tourism infrastructure and activities
Development impacts on areas of cultural and heritage value

A single planning process cannot provide solutions to all these issues. The Biosphere Foundation aims to achieve synergies and greater integration of data collection and dissemination, development of responses, and stronger commitment to pursuing balanced outcomes. These efforts are community-driven and intended to enhance the numerous Commonwealth, Victorian and local government programs already in place.

Logistic support

Our Biosphere also has a logistic support function — to provide support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development.