Being located at the confluence of temperate and tropical zones, Noosa is part of one of the most biodiverse ecological regions in the world. This rich biodiversity is due to the fact that Noosa is at the southern extent of the range of many tropical species and at the northern extent of the range of many temperate species. There are also a number of species that are specifically adapted to living nowhere else on earth, but here in the South East Queensland region. And for many of those species, Noosa’s vast and intact natural areas make up highly important environmental strongholds.

A snapshot of Noosa’s environmental credentials taken from the recently completed Biodiversity and Natural History Significance of Noosa Shire Report (by Steve Poole) lists the following significance features :

• Noosa Shire is located within an Endangered Ecoregion as defined by World Wildlife Fund and National Geographic and is located within a Critical/Endangered Endemic Bird Area as defined by Birdlife International.

• Noosa Shire provides an altitudinal range of fauna habitats that provide east-west and north-south stepping stones for a range of fauna taxa. Habitats range from littoral rainforest and coastal dune heath and woodlands in the east, through riverine and lake systems, wallum heath, rising through woodlands and tall open forests to the Cooroy and other plateaux and mountains to the west and north-west. Interspersed across most of the altitudinal range are pockets and creek systems containing rainforest and ecotonal forests.

• Noosa River and lakes system are UNIQUE among Queensland estuaries with a transition from fresh water to hypersaline waters in the lakes. The South-East Queensland  Regional Water Quality Management Strategy (SEQRWQMS)  Study (2001) identified the Noosa River catchment as the benchmark for healthy waterways in South-East Queensland. It is considered a pristine catchment and has been rated as EXCELLENT - the highest rating and the only catchment in South-East Queensland so rated.

• 60 different regional ecosystems have been identified within Noosa Shire. 34 of these regional ecosystems are classified as "Endangered" or "Of Concern". (24 classified as "Of Concern" and 10 classified as "Endangered") and they cover 45 % or 18,288 hectares of the remnant native vegetation of the Shire.

• Noosa Shire contains:

1. Many species at or near their northern limits of distribution;
2. Many species at or near their southern limits of distribution;
3. Many species that are endemic to the broader regional Macleay- McPherson Overlap;
4. Species that are more narrowly endemic and are endemic or largely endemic to Noosa;
5. Species that have ‘disjunct’ populations (i.e. may occur within Noosa and then not reported again until the Atherton Tableland.

• At least 40% of fauna species that are found in Noosa Shire are considered to be significant at varying scales (international to local).

• At least 49 species of fauna found in Noosa Shire are internationally significant and listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (UN) in their REDLIST of Threatened species, and 73 fauna species are considered nationally significant and are listed in the Commonwealth EPBC ACT.

• Noosa Shire contains at least 304 bird species, which is 44 per cent of the total birds species in Australia and 50 per cent of the birds species of Queensland. This is twice the bird diversity of the Wet Tropics area in an area which is 8 per cent of its size, and 30 per cent more bird diversity than Kakadu, in an area 4 per cent of its size.

• Two sites in the Noosa River estuary are used as a roosting place by a mixed migratory tern flock of an estimated number of over 28,000 birds.

• A total of 1365 different species of higher plants have to date been identified within Noosa Shire. 39 species of native plants within Noosa Shire have conservation significance under the State Nature Conservation Act (Wildlife) Regulation (1994) and 21 species of native plant have been given national conservation protection and are listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).

• Wet tropics World Heritage Area has 1,160 species* of higher plants in 920,000 hectares plus. In comparison, Noosa Shire has 1,365 plant species in 83,000 hectares. Noosa has 17 per cent more plant species than Wet Tropics in less than 8 per cent of the area (*IUCN 1995).

• The Noosa River Wetlands meet all six selection criteria and are described as a "Spectacular and extensive system of freshwater, brackish and saline lakes, marshes, heathlands and estuarine wetlands associated with the Noosa River; it has unique landforms vegetation and fauna. …..The Noosa River lakes and adjacent wetlands are one of few such wetland complexes on the entire Eastern Australian seaboard and as part of the Great Sandy Region are considered to have World Heritage value and are in the process of being nominated by the State and Commonwealth Governments.

• The Cooloola Section of the Great Sandy area (of which Noosa Shire is a significant part) exhibits globally unique natural phenomenon. With Fraser it is the world’s largest coastal sandmass system with a dune sequence matched nowhere else on Earth.

• Such diversity in geomorphic and ecological features, as occur along the Noosa River is unusual for a short coastal stream....no other river along the east coast of Australia offers such diversity.