We’ve provided answers to the most frequently asked questions on the purchase and protection of Maalan Cloud Forest.

Where is Maalan Cloud Forest

Maalan Cloud Forest property, number 252 Maalan Road, Maalan, (Lot 535 NR2668) on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. The town of Ravenshoe is 18 km away.

Map of Maalan Cloud Forest

Why is Maalan Cloud Forest important? 

Strategically located between Wooroonooran National Park and Maalan National Park, the Maalan Cloud Forest property's value as a corridor for wildlife is of immense significance.

The purchase of Maalan Cloud Forest will enable 80 hectares to be managed as an essential refuge for endemic mammals that have nowhere else to go. 

The Spectacled Flying Fox, Spotted-tail Quoll, Southern Cassowary, Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo, Lemuroid Ringtail Possum, Green Ringtail Possum, Herbert River Ringtail Possum, and Golden Bowerbird are found on the property. 

These Threatened species are restricted to the cooler parts of the Atherton Tablelands and other higher parts of the Wet Tropics in Far North Queensland, which means they can all be found either on this 80-hectare Maalan Cloud Forest property or at nearby locations of similar high altitude (above 800 metres). Securing this important habitat is essential to support their long-term survival.

The remnant rainforest is classified as Regional Ecosystem 7.8.4 high altitude cloud forest on basalt. This ecosystem is listed as Endangered. 

Please, donate now and help purchase and protect the Maalan Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

That’s why we are buying these 80 hectares of land - its conservation value as a critical wildlife corridor and refuge is priceless. 

Climate change is increasing number of days with high temperatures. On January 15, 2019, a record-breaking heatwave in Far North Queensland pushed temperatures to 42 degrees celsius. This one event is estimated to have killed more than 23,000 Spectacled Flying Foxes, or almost one-third of the species in Australia. 

As the impact of climate change increases, the remaining population of Spectacled Flying Foxes in FNQ will require a refuge to which they can retreat in extreme heat conditions. Through the purchase and restoration of high-altitude cloud forest on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, we are achieving this outcome.

A very significant population of the Spectacled Flying Fox uses a camp in the rainforest adjoining the Maalan Cloud Forest property. The size of the population changes through the year, with reports of over 20,000 bats in the camp over the summer months. This represents one-third of the remaining Spectacled Flying Fox population. 

Climate change impacts mammals adapted to live in the normally stable environment of the cloud forests. As temperatures rise, habitat at higher altitudes becomes an essential refuge. 

Please, donate now.

Please, donate now and help us purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Each $1.50 you donate will purchase 1 square metre of Cloud Forest land. A donation of $30 will purchase 45 square metres. A donation of $100 will purchase 150 square metres and a donation of $300 will purchase and protect 450 square metres of Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

Spectacled Flying Fox

Who will own the land? 

To purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest we have partnered with South Endeavour Trust. South Endeavour Trust was established in 2007 as an independent, not for profit, charitable trust with the sole purpose of contributing to nature conservation in Australia. South Endeavour currently owns and manages nineteen conservation reserves including Misty Mountain Nature Refuge on the Atherton Tablelands.

How will it be purchased? 

The property will be acquired in the same manner as other freehold properties in Australia. The current owner of Maalan Cloud Forest has entered into a binding option agreement with our partners, South Endeavour Trust, so they cant sell it to anyone else. 

We have now exchanged a contract and have until the 28th of December 2023 to raise the funds.

As a charity, we are providing the opportunity for people to make donations to support the purchase and protection of land. We are unable to structure an opportunity for people to be joint owners, to have a share, or to have their name on the title. 

Please, donate now and help us purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Each $1.50 you donate will purchase 1 square metre of Cloud Forest land. A donation of $30 will purchase 45 square metres. A donation of $100 will purchase 150 square metres and a donation of $300 will purchase and protect 450 square metres of Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

Maalan Cloud Forest

How will it be protected? 

Our plan is to protect the Maalan Cloud Forest property through its gazettal as a Nature Refuge. The Queensland Government’s Nature Refuge program works with landholders who have an interest in protecting and managing the significant conservation values of their land in perpetuity. A nature refuge is established through a voluntary, binding conservation agreement between the landholder and the Department of Environment and Science on behalf of the Queensland Government. Nature Refuges provide the highest level of protection for land outside of a national park.

Has this been done successfully before? 

Our project partners are South Endeavour Trust, a successful registered non-profit organisation that acquires and manages land for conservation. We successfully partnered with them in 2021 for the acquisition of Oakey Scrub near Cooktown and the Cheelonga Cloud Forest in 2022. In the last 4 years we have purchased 29 properties in the Daintree Rainforest. You can see all of these properties here. 

Please, donate now and help us purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Each $1.50 you donate will purchase 1 square metre of Cloud Forest land. A donation of $30 will purchase 45 square metres. A donation of $100 will purchase 150 square metres and a donation of $300 will purchase and protect 450 square metres of Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

The Maalan River flows though the property 

How much will it cost? 

We are raising $1,200,000 to acquire the property for conservation. That's a cost of only $1.50 per square metre. This is exceptional value for your investment in nature conservation.

The Maalan Cloud Forest property is 83 hectares. The purchase price is $1,070,000. The total funds required for us to manage the acquisition of the property is $1,200,000. We require and additional funds for overhead (administration, fundraising, and costs related to the property acquisition such as ecological assessments, surveys, and documentation). This is 10.83% of the total project cost.

Please, donate now and help us purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Each $1.50 you donate will purchase 1 square metre of Cloud Forest land. A donation of $30 will purchase 45 square metres. A donation of $100 will purchase 150 square metres and a donation of $300 will purchase and protect 450 square metres of Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

Cattle will be removed from the rainforest

What about future management including weeds and the risk of bushfires? 

South Endeavour Trust will own and manage the property. They build and maintain a sufficient capital base sufficient to meet management costs in perpetuity. Their management decisions are based on sound science focused on control weeds, reducing feral animal populations, and managing and where appropriate, using fire as a tool for diversity and resilience.

A particular focus of management will be:

• The exclusion of cattle from the rainforest to provide for a continuous improvement in the condition of the rainforest and expansion of the rainforest area.
• The exclusion and/or active management of feral animals 
• Maintenance of strict weed quarantine to maintain its largely weed-free state

Revegetation

On the property, there are currently 45 hectares of endangered rainforest and 35 hectares of land that were cleared many decades ago. By revegetating this land we will complete a high-priority corridor between Maalan and Wooroonooran national parks. Its protection and restoration will also help buffer the World Heritage Area. 

To restore the cleared land, we will plant 125,000 trees. This expansion of habitat will complete the wildlife corridor and expand the habitat for the existing Spectacled Flying Fox camp.  

Please, donate now and help us purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Each $1.50 you donate will purchase 1 square metre of Cloud Forest land. A donation of $30 will purchase 45 square metres. A donation of $100 will purchase 150 square metres and a donation of $300 will purchase and protect 450 square metres of Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

Land cleared in the past will be revegetated

What are the threats to Maalan Cloud Forest?

The major threats to the values of the property are:

• Clearing of rainforest that is regrowth
• Cattle impacting the rainforest (there is currently no internal fencing to exclude them)
• Feral predators, cats, wild dogs
• Weeds

Please, donate now and help us purchase and protect Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Each $1.50 you donate will purchase 1 square metre of Cloud Forest land. A donation of $30 will purchase 45 square metres. A donation of $100 will purchase 150 square metres and a donation of $300 will purchase and protect 450 square metres of Cloud Forest. Prefer to use PayPal? Please donate here.

The Lumholtz’s Tree-kangaroo are found on the property 

How can I make a donation to purchase Maalan Cloud Forest?

You can donate now online and help purchase and protect the Maalan Cloud Forest. 

Ways to Donate

If you want to donate with a cheque/money order or through a direct deposit, please see our Ways to Donate page.

Cheque or Money Order: 

You can donate by sending a cheque or money order made out to the Bunya Sustainability Fund to 27 Tuckeroo Avenue, Mullumbimby, NSW 2482.

PayPal:

You can donate here using PayPal. 

You can send your donation to [email protected]

Direct Deposit:

If you would like to donate by direct deposit, the account details are:

Bank: ANZ Bank

Account Name: Bunya Sustainability Fund

BSB: 012 742

Account No. 2093 50036

If you contribute by direct deposit, please send an email to [email protected] with the details of the amount and any preference you have for supporting a project. Please also provide your name and postal address so we can issue a receipt.

CASH DONATIONS: 

You can make cash deposits at any branch of the ANZ Bank or their agents. The account details are:

Bank: ANZ Bank

Account Name: Bunya Sustainability Fund

BSB: 012 742

Account No. 2093 50036

If you contribute by a cash deposit, please send an email to [email protected] with the details of the amount and any preference you have for supporting a project. Please also provide your name and postal address so we can issue a receipt.

Please make a donation now online.

About the Rainforest 4 Foundation 

The Rainforest 4 Foundation is an Australian Company Limited by Guarantee (the legal structure of an Australian nonprofit organisation. We are registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (the Australian company regulator).

We are also registered with the Australian Charites and Not-for-profits Commission (the Australian charity regulator).

Australian Company Number (ACN): 628358323

Australian Business Number (ABN):  49628358323

If you have any questions please contact us or call Kelvin Davies on 0437 423 119.