Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve is a
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
in the Australian state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
located on land and coastal waters associated both with the Mornington Peninsula and the bay known as
Western Port
Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is ...
.
The biosphere reserve was described by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
in 2016 as:
The Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve includes the whole of Mornington Peninsula Shire and parts of the
City of Frankston
The City of Frankston (officially known as ''Frankston City Council)'' is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 130 square kilometres, and in June 2018, the City of Frankst ...
Ramsar Site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
). The site periodically supports over 10,000 waders and 10,000 ducks and swans, and a rich invertebrate fauna of some 1,380 species.
The biosphere reserve was established in November 2002.
The managing authority is the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation Ltd which trades under the name of the Western Port Biosphere Reserve.
See also
*
List of biosphere reserves in Australia Under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme, there are 142 biosphere reserves recognized as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Asia and the Pacific as of April 2016. These are distributed across 24 countries in the region.
T ...