What is the Georgian Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve?

The country of Canada is well known for its vast expanses of wilderness, and the unique habitats it offers both marine and terrestrial life. One of the best-known features of Canada are the Great Lakes, huge bodies of water which are like inland seas. Unfortunately as Canada developed, a lot of damage was done to several of the Great Lakes, resulting in catastrophic and irreversible damage to some of these unique ecosystems. Quite a few efforts have been made to preserve what is left of these wild spaces, one of which is the Georgian Bay UNESCO reserve on Lake Huron.

Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay is definitely one of the most beautiful and unique spots in all of Canada, and possibly all of North America. It is about 320 kilometres long and 80 kilometres wide, on the northeastern side of Lake Huron. More importantly, the Bay itself is almost as large as Lake Ontario, one of the smaller of the Great Lake. The Bay contains literally thousands of small islands, known collectively as the 30,000 Islands. Canada’s own Group of Seven made the Bay and the islands famous throughout the art world.

UNESCO

UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations, established with the purpose of promoting international co-operation through science and other areas. In 1971, UNESCO began to promote the Natural Science side of its operation through the creation of biosphere reserves. These biospheres are designed to demonstrate a balanced relationship between man and nature; part of the UNESCO condition for these biospheres is that they contain both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Once established, these regions have an area that is protected under the laws of the country they are in, a buffer zone, and a transition zone where some economic activity can be pursued.

The Georgian Bay UNESCO biosphere reserve was established in1990. The reserve contains a great variety of plant and marine life, including several species of reptiles and amphibians, which are rare in Canada. In fact, as amphibian populations plummet around the world, the importance of the populations in Georgian Bay is being highlighted as never before.

The Georgian Bay UNESCO biosphere reserve is an example of how international bodies can work to create important sites for the preservation of treasures that are both national and global in nature.

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