On my most recent visit to the Daintree Rainforest, I went to see a property I was planning to purchase for conservation only to find someone else has beaten us to it. The outcome is devastating. 

Land Clearing in the Daintree Rainforest for housing development 

This property in the Forest Creek area of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest has been cleared for housing development. When I arrived, it was very early in the early morning and I saw a rare Bennetts Tree-kangaroo on the edge of the clearing. The Bennetts Tree-kangaroo is found only from the Daintree River to just south of Cooktown and they can’t survive without their rainforest habitat. This is a freehold property and it is not illegal for the owner to destroy this World Heritage value rainforest. The solution is to buy back these freehold properties and add them to the Daintree National Park.

Many Australian’s believe the Daintree Lowland Rainforest is already protected in a national park, however, that's not the reality. In the mid 1980’s the Queensland government approved an 1,100-lot rural residential subdivision in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest resulting in two-thirds of the lowland rainforest (between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation) being excluded from protection in the Daintree National Park and Wet Tropics World Heritage Area that was declared in 1988. 

Destruction of Bennetts Tree-kangaroo habitat in the Daintree

We must stop all clearing of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. To do that I urgently need your help to keep buying back land before more rainforest is destroyed. Next week I’m going to launch a new project to buy back one of the most important properties in the Daintree. It not only provides habitat for rare Bennetts Tree-kangaroos, the Endangered Southern Cassowary, and Musky Rat-kangaroos it also provides a refuge for one of Australia’s most endangered plants. This really is the most important property we could purchase for conservation at this time so please watch out for the launch next week.

With your help, we have purchased seven properties for conservation since August last year. That’s an incredibly positive outcome! Now I’m going to go one step further and purchase a strategically located 8-hectare property in the heart of the Daintree. I’ll announce the details next week however if you want to take a peek please see the information I’ve added to the special web page and if you would like to help us pay for the deposit on the property please donate now.

Please keep an eye out for the launch of the campaign to buy this important property next week and thank you for everything you do to help save the Daintree Rainforest and protect it forever!

Kelvin Davies

Founder - Rainforest 4 Foundation

P.S. If you have any questions about the purchase and protection of land in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest please email me at [email protected] or call me on 0437 423 119.