The Great Sandy region has 40% of the world's perched lakes, the majority of the world's complex rainforests growing on sand and the largest coastal sand mass in the world. The Great Sandy Biosphere has a concentration of rare, threatened, endangered and vulnerable species.
This area is a major transitory point for humpback whales; is recognised as a major feeding and roosting location for migratory birds; supports highly significant Dugong populations and seagrass beds
and is a major breeding site for oceanic turtles.