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Noosa Biosphere Association Inc. |
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History of the Noosa Biosphere
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GOVERNANCE OF THE NOOSA BIOSPHERE RESERVE What follows is an overview of our preferred governance model for the Noosa Biosphere Reserve. It adheres to the original concept provided to UNESCO by Noosa Council in their nomination documentation.
1. THE MODEL PROPOSED TO UNESCO (and supported by Noosa Biosphere Association Inc) The Biosphere Reserve Nomination document presented to UNESCO contained the following: “The administration of the Biosphere program will be through an incorporated non-statutory body established as an Incorporated Association. The organizational arrangement will provide for the involvement and participation of land managers of the core and buffer areas, together with public authorities and trusts who provide funding and or other forms of support to assist in delivery of projects agreed by the Association. Local communities will be represented through democratically elected representatives and community based organizations. Individuals will also be eligible to seek membership of the Association.”
2. THE COUNCIL GOVERNANCE MODEL The Sunshine Coast Regional Council (SCRC) has agreed to create a wholly owned company that does not include individual, independent membership. A recent newspaper article suggested that the proposed company would not be "owned" by the SCRC. We quote, however, from the Council's own report which clearly states: "The Biosphere is (to be) governed through the formation of a company limited by guarantee, owned by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council..." and elsewhere, "The Sunshine Coast Regional Council would be the sole member of the company." We believe such a move discredits Council's own Biosphere application and will not produce the best outcome. We believe it will fail to harness all the diverse capabilities and enthusiasm of the local community. Council's own Working Group supported the original Incorporated Association model because it would have brought together the full gamut of interested community groups, individuals, educational institutions and government bodies, each with important contributions to make. Under the Council's company model, all participants must be anointed by Council, and thus certain community groups and individuals have been intentionally excluded from participating.
3. WHY THE ORIGINAL MODEL PRESENTED TO UNESCO SHOULD BE ADHERED TO In keeping with the original nomination submitted to and accepted by UNESCO, we believe the Biosphere Reserve should be administered by a democratically governed, open and accountable Incorporated Association. We suggest its working title be the Noosa Biosphere Governance Association Inc., until such time that a more appropriate name is debated and agreed on. We stress that our organisation, the Noosa Biosphere Association Inc., has no desire to become the administering incorporated association. Instead we see part of our role to be one of advocacy for a governance model that is consistent with the original proposal to UNESCO. When a new Incorporated Association is established to manage the Noosa Biosphere Reserve, our existing Noosa Biosphere Association Inc. may either cede to that new organisation, or remain in place as one of its many participants. We envisage that the new Noosa Biosphere Governance Association will be a cooperative, convivial partnership between Noosa residents; Noosa businesses; Noosa community organisations; appropriate educational and scientific institutions; and local, state and federal government representatives. We strongly support such a model because it can draw on and enrich the Noosa community's long-standing commitment to conservation, sustainable development and lifestyle protection, in ways that the SCRC company model can not. All citizens of the former Noosa Shire are now citizens of the UNESCO-recognised Noosa Biosphere Reserve. They are therefore automatically custodians of the Reserve, and any governance model should reflect this. Over decades the Noosa community has proven itself eminently capable of administering its own region. It has earned the right to continue to do so. |
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