The Riverland Biosphere Reserve, formerly the Bookmark Biosphere Reserve, is a area of land in eastern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, adjoining the states of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

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 ...

. It is one of 14

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 ...

s in Australia and is part of the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable de ...

, being officially recognized and listed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1977.

Description

The reserve is composed of several mainly contiguous properties that, although having different ownerships and different management purposes, have the joint aim of identifying approaches to

ecologically sustainable development Ecologically sustainable development is the environmental component of sustainable development. It can be achieved partially through the use of the precautionary principle; if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack ...

in a low-productivity landscape with many shared land-management problems. It lies in the

Murray Mallee The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia bounded to the north and west by the Murray River (in South Australia, "River Murray"), to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km sout ...

and the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria downstream to Blanchetown. The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, Loxt ...

with the native vegetation predominantly mallee

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

and shrubland, but also including

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s and riverine communities along the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

. The flood plains of the reserve are recognised as internationally significant wetlands for migratory birds under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

. The reserve is involved in Australia's national recovery plan for the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

black-eared miner The black-eared miner (''Manorina melanotis'') is an endangered honeyeater endemic to mallee woodland in south-eastern Australia. Taxonomy ''Manorina melanotis'' was identified by Francis Erasmus Wilson in 1911. It is closely related to the mu ...

. The reserve's many component properties include protected areas, pastoral leases and privately owned land such as the following: * Calperum Station * Chowilla Regional Reserve * Chowilla Game Reserve * Cooltong Conservation Park * Danggali Conservation Park * Danggali Wilderness Protection Area * Gluepot Reserve *

Loch Luna Game Reserve Loch Luna Reserve is a protected area covering the floodplain on the north side of the River Murray in South Australia between the towns of Kingston-on-Murray in the west and Cobdogla in the east. It is located about east north-east of the ...

Moorook Game Reserve Moorook Game Reserve is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia covering the floodplain on the south side of the River Murray in the localities of Kingston-on-Murray and Moorook immediately south of the section of the S ...

* Murray River National Park * Taylorville Station The reserve is also overlapped by the

Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area The Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area comprises a tract of mallee habitat and riverine woodland extending from near Waikerie in the Riverland region in eastern South Australia north-eastwards into south-western New South Wales. Descrip ...

, an area identified by BirdLife International as being "important" for the conservation of mallee birds and their habitats.

References

External links

UNESCO - Biosphere reserves

Entry for Riverland Biosphere Reserve on protected planet
Biosphere reserves of Australia Riverland Murray River 1977 establishments in Australia {{SouthAustralia-protected-area-stub

Description

See also

References

External links