Stronger Together

Stronger Together Position Statement on Biodiversity, Rights and Interests of Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Tourism

We work with a range of organisations that align with our cause and assist us to have impact, achieve meaningful conservation outcomes and work toward a vision for the Daintree rainforest where its pristine ecological systems are managed by its Traditional Owners. Our current Strategic Partners include HalfCut and the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation.

We work very closely with our Strategic Partners to ensure that we design and deliver conservation programs efficiently and that we reach a diverse range of people to provide them with as many opportunities to support our cause as possible.

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Our Strategic Partner, HalfCut, works with Rainforest 4 Foundation to design and implement campaigns that engage people of all cultures, ages and sexes to raise awareness and funds for forest conservation & regeneration. The goal of HalfCut is to be the face for the environmental movement and bring joy, fun, and accessibility into protecting crucial Australian rainforest habitats for threatened and endangered species. Each August, a nation-wide ‘HalfCut day’ is held. It is a social movement that inclusively engages people and businesses to raise awareness and funds to help save the last remaining 50% of forests globally through wearing their HalfCut look. Funds raised through the HalfCut campaigns are used to help purchase priority properties of high conservation value identified in the Rainforest 4 Foundation’s acquisition strategy.

Subsequent to a native title determination that included the settlement of 15 ‘Indigenous Land Use Agreements’ (ILUA’s), the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people established the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and the Jabalbina Land Trust in 2007 to represent the interests of the native title holders. Rainforest 4 Foundation transfers properties purchased under its Save The Daintree Program which have outstanding environmental values to Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation. The Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation works with the Queensland State Government to have the blocks added to the Daintree National Park estate, to be jointly managed as National Park within Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land (CYPAL). With support from Traditional Owners, the state is also converting existing national parks, to be jointly managed with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service as national parks under the CYPAL agreement, with Aboriginal freehold as the underlying tenure. 

The achievements of this program were acknowledged in the 2021 Queensland Reconciliation Awards and received the Partnership Award and the Premiers Choice Award. The Save the Daintree program and the partnership between Rainforest 4 Foundation, HalfCut and Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation is built on respect, care and the shared values of protecting the Daintree’s globally significant conservation and cultural values while also reconnecting people with Traditional Land.

  • Kelvin Davies
    published this page in About Us 2021-07-02 14:53:26 +1000