To Douglas Shire Council

Urgently put a stop to proposals for a bridge across the Daintree River and instead work to protect the region’s natural values.

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Building a bridge over the Daintree River will support further undesirable development. For decades, governments and NGOs have been investing in buying back blocks adjacent to the World Heritage Area to slow down development. And now the Douglas Shire Council has put a bridge back on the table.

A bridge over the Daintree has been floated on and off for decades and has been met with opposition from the local community and conservationists across the world.

A bridge poses a significant threat to the area’s biodiversity. There’s no doubt a bridge brings with it an increase in vehicular traffic to this internationally significant region. With a bridge will come the following impacts:

• 24-hour access across the river means cars are crossing the river at all times of day and night, putting at risk already endangered wildlife.
• The construction phase and inevitable road upgrade will disturb sensitive ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic.
• The bridge is likely to increase the number and type of services available to residents and tourists of the Daintree, for example, deliveries and waste services
• An increase in tourism development will increase road kills of native wildlife, including the endangered Southern Cassowary
• Expansion to the road network will create an edge effect, opening up the rainforest canopy and further catalyzing the spread of pest plants and animals
• Tourists currently visit the Daintree for its intact rainforest and genuine wildlife experiences. Additional infrastructure will undermine the region’s natural values

People power has saved the Daintree time and time again and it will this time too. We’re calling on the Douglas Shire Council to put a stop to development in the Daintree once and for all and to cease all proposals exploring a bridge across the Daintree River.