The Daintree Local Landscape is renowned for its spectacular natural assets and these astounding attributes warrant world class management.
Although over half of the local landscape is protected in the World Heritage Area, working with our community will be vital to ensure a whole-of-landscape approach to managing our natural assets.
There are also many other factors which make life in the Daintree unique. With community cohesion and collective action, we can make sure all these values are recognised and managed appropriately to protect what is special to our community, for now and generations to follow.
Our three top priorities
1. Biodiversity
We will improve the condition of our natural forests, including threatened ecological communities like littoral rainforest and coastal vine thickets.
We will build landscape resilience and support wildlife species by improving connectivity between remnants, through revegetation of disturbed areas.
We share our Local Landscape with unique and diverse wildlife. Increasing our knowledge of these species, including the threats they face, can help us develop strategies to minimise our impacts and ensure these animal populations can thrive in our area, now and into the future.
Examples of our priority actions include:
- Actively manage and protect areas of littoral rainforest, including weed control and limiting disturbance of remaining remnants.
- Conduct revegetation in important areas to improve connectivity and help manage weeds.
- Protect wildlife species, particularly by reducing road kills, increasing awareness and managing domestic and feral animals.
2. Cultural Connections
We will ensure the Traditional Owners of the Daintree Local Landscape are actively and meaningfully involved in managing and protecting the natural and cultural values of the area.
Indigenous people have protected, managed and shaped the landscapes they live in for tens of thousands of years. Incorporating this traditional ecological knowledge into the ongoing management of our landscapes and seascapes ensures an ongoing cultural connection to country, as well as providing social benefits to local communities.
Examples of our priority actions include:
- Provide greater opportunities for Traditional Owners to work on country and share their cultural knowledge, through ranger programs, funding for employment and training programs or cultural tourism ventures.
- Ensure important cultural sites, like Blue Hole, are appropriately managed to protect their cultural values.
3. Community Values
We will work to ensure there is strong community cohesion and effective collective action to protect and enhance the natural assets of the Daintree.
There is understandably a strong interest in protecting the natural and cultural values of our World Heritage listed rainforests – at local, national and international levels. We have active community groups and passionate locals who are well-placed to plan and implement actions to support this.
Effective communication and collaboration is essential to ensure we are working together towards shared outcomes. With a co-ordinated approach and involvement from all stakeholders, we can ensure decision making and planning supports the communities and landscapes of the Daintree.
“There is an abundance of local knowledge and regard for the natural environment. We need to identify and engage these people.”
Examples of our priority actions include:
- Collaborate with all stakeholders to effectively manage the natural resources in the Daintree.
- Involve the community in a collaborative planning process to develop a collective and aligned vision.
Other priorities:
Management of weeds and pests is another important priority in the Daintree, to minimise their impact on the local environment.
“As weeds and pests represent the greatest threat to local systems over the next 5 years there is a very real requirement for a co-ordinated and targeted approach to control.”
Tourism is an important industry in the Daintree, and the community has identified a range of nature-based tourism opportunities to support this industry and showcase the natural and cultural values of the region.
Click here for more detail on the priority actions identified by the community for our Local Landscape.