Land Purchase to Save the Daintree Rainforest

Completed Project Snapshot

Location: Daintree Lowland Rainforest, Queensland, Australia

Action: Purchase Lot 167 Buchanan Creek Road in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest and their protection in the Daintree National Park.   

Lot 167 Buchanan Creek Road, Cow Bay (RP 737400)

Area: 1.0022 hectares

Threatened Species: Southern Cassowary

Habitat: Lowland tropical rainforest classified as Regional Ecosystem 7.3.20a "Open forest (or vine forest with these emergents) on alluvial fans at the base of ranges".

We identified Lot 167 Buchanan Creek Road at Cow Bay as a priority property for purchase and protection due to the high level of risk from development. 

Lot 167 Buchanan Creek Road at Cow Bay in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest

We are extremely pleased that we can protect Lot 167 Buchanan Creek Road as it will prevent another house from being built in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. A rural residential subdivision in 1982 created 1,137 lots and while many properties have been purchased for conservation the subdivision created 50 km of roads many houses have now been built in the Daintree.

Lot 167 Cape Tribulation Road is a 1.0022 hectare property. Buying and protecting this property will protect habitat for the Endangered Southern Cassowary and other Threatened species. Lot 167 Buchanan Creek Road has 143 species of rainforest plants and one plant species listed in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act (1992). 

The Daintree is the oldest rainforests on Earth and provides a refuge for wildlife and ancient flowering plants. It holds exceptionally high biodiversity and conservation value and is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest remaining in Australia. In 1982 the Queensland government approved an 1,137-lot rural residential subdivision in the Daintree. This resulted in two-thirds of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest being excluded from protection in the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area that was declared in 1988.