Ecosystem Restoration Australia Project #9790

Protect a Rainforest

by Rainforest Rescue

Project Report | Apr 5, 2026
Change Is coming...but not fast enough

By Cesar Barbosa Garcia | Engagement Coordinator

Daintree Oxbow Aerial

Recent developments in the Daintree have marked an important step forward for rainforest restoration, but also highlight the challenges that still remain.

At the end of March, Douglas Shire Council made a decision on Rainforest Rescue’s proposal to restore the Daintree Oxbow floodplain—an area of nationally significant wetland and former agricultural land.

The outcome was a partial approval.

This means that restoration can now begin in some areas of the Oxbow, allowing native rainforest to be replanted on parts of the landscape. At the same time, other areas were not approved for restoration, reflecting ongoing tensions between traditional land use and emerging conservation opportunities.

Why This Matters

This decision represents real progress.

For decades, large areas of lowland rainforest in the Daintree have been cleared, fragmented, or converted to agriculture. Now, as industries like sugarcane decline in the region, there is a rare opportunity to return these landscapes to functioning ecosystems.

Rainforest restoration at the Oxbow has the potential to:

Reconnect rainforest, wetlands and mangroves
Improve water quality flowing to the Great Barrier Reef
Create habitat for threatened species
Support a new, nature-positive local economy

Even partial approval allows this work to begin, demonstrating what is possible.

From Protection to Restoration

Rainforest Rescue’s Protect a Rainforest project focuses on purchasing high conservation value rainforest blocks and protecting them forever.

This work has already helped secure dozens of properties and restore critical wildlife habitat, reconnecting fragmented ecosystems across the Daintree landscape.

The Oxbow represents the next evolution of this approach—moving from individual property protection to landscape-scale protection and restoration.

Building Momentum: Lot 3

At the centre of this vision is Lot 3, a key floodplain property within the Oxbow.

Securing this site will:

Protect a critical link between rainforest, river and mangroves
Enable large-scale restoration to begin
Safeguard habitat in perpetuity

Thanks to the support of our community, we are now around one-third of the way towards our $987,000 goal to purchase and protect this property.

Looking Ahead

The recent council decision shows that change is possible—but it also makes clear that progress takes time.

Rainforest Rescue will continue working with landholders, partners and decision-makers to expand restoration opportunities across the Oxbow and beyond.

At the same time, we remain focused on what we can do right now: securing land, protecting it forever, and restoring rainforest wherever possible.

Thank You

Every step forward—whether it’s a land purchase, a restored hectare, or a policy shift—is made possible through your support.

Together, we are not only protecting rainforest, but helping shape what its future can be.

We’ve attached a link to our 2025 Annual Report if you’d like to explore the broader impact of this work.

Links:

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Dec 30, 2025
How your support shaped the year's success

By Branden Barber | CEO

As 2025 draws to a close, I want to pause briefly, to thank you.

Because of your support, this has been a landmark year for Rainforest Rescue. A year where ambition turned into action, and momentum became real progress on the ground.

In 2025, together we:

Secured the 30 ha 110 Cape Tribulation Road — the Gateway site, creating a long-term, visionary foundation for onward restoration, education and community engagement. Our 2026 Annual Community Tree Planting will be held here for the first time, make a note in the diary for Saturday 16th May next year
Protected the 12 ha, intact Degarra propertynorth of Cape Tribulation, strengthening a critical wildlife corridor adjoining the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. This northern gem is the 47th property to be secured through your support, safe in the Rainforest Rescue Protection Portfolio
Grew a phenomenal 40,000 seedlings at the Cow Bay Native Nursery, while our tireless Restoration Team planted over 38,000 trees. This immense outcome meant that we completed two restoration projects, at NightWings Rainforest Centre and the former Cow Bay Airstrip, then began restoration around the 'Green Island of Hope' at 110 Cape Tribulation Road. The latter is a pocket of forest regrowth clinging to a creek line that runs through the property
Launched theDaintree Oxbow Project— a ten-year vision to restore flood-prone, exhausted ex-farmland at landscape scale reaching into the hundreds of hectares, which in time will see tremendous benefits for nature, tourism, the local economy, and community

All of this matters. And it brings us to this moment.

WHY LOT 3 MATTERS NOW

Lot 3 will be our second Oxbow purchase and a vital part of the long-term restoration plan.

It borders one of the world’s most biodiverse mangrove systems, protecting rainforest, mangroves and the Great Barrier Reef in one connected landscape.

Securing Lot 3 will:

Give mangroves space to adapt as sea levels rise
Prevent inappropriate development at a critical time
Lock in restoration, biodiversity and nature-positive jobs for the region

With major changes underway in Douglas Shire and our increased capacity, this land is optimal for original-state restoration.

This year also saw the launch of Australia’sNature Repair Market — rewarding real, measurable biodiversity restoration. In fact, 110 Cape Tribulation Rd is a Beta Site for another kind of Biodiversity Credit scheme, Cassowary Credits, created by Terrain NRM up here in the Wet Tropics to help incentivise and support restoration…just like this.

Watch this space as we discover how the Daintree Oxbow Development Application is received by Council’s planners, and what Council recommends, in February of next year. We are growing tens of thousands of trees, ready to go in once the rains ease in the coming months.

Approval processes are under way through Douglas Shire Council, having garnered strong community endorsement — including 40 letters of support from institutions like Bush Heritage Australia, The Wilderness Society, Greening Australia, adjacent councils, our Indigenous partners, academics, regional businesses as well as farmers who currently own land in the Oxbow and are ready to see it restored.

A clear plan for restoration at scale is on the cusp of being 2026's headline news. This means that Lot 3 is an exceptionally rare opportunity to turn this year’s momentum into lasting protection.

GROWING, TOGETHER

On a more personal note, recently as dusk settled over our Native Nursery and frogs and nocturnal birds began their chorus, I watched as night fell and sensed, very strongly, across this ex-airstrip we’ve replanted over the last two years, that the forest is growing closer.

Where there was once open ground, there is now shelter and life.

This is what you make possible. What we are doing together is really wonderful and really significant.

Thank you for standing with us, and for the future you’re helping to restore.

From everyone at Rainforest Rescue, we wish you a peaceful and restorative festive season with your friends and family.

For the rainforests,
Branden and the Rainforest Rescue team

Links:

The BIG One Why Lot 3 matters

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Sep 15, 2025
Global Spotlight on the Daintree

By Cesar Barbosa Garcia | Engagement Coordinator

Daintree River and Oxbow Martin Stringer

An International Spotlight on Our Mission to Protect Rainforests Forever

Earlier this year, Rainforest Rescue was honoured to be featured in a powerful article by Adventure.com, an independent global travel journalism outlet that shares stories that matter.

In this in-depth piece, writer Lauren Smith and photographer Crystal Wright travelled to the Daintree to explore why this ancient rainforest demands not only admiration but urgent protection. You can read the full article here: Rainforest Rescue: Protecting the Daintree

This article beautifully captured Rainforest Rescue’s mission; a mission you’re part of. Whether you're donating, spreading the word, or simply staying connected, your support helps protect one of the world’s most extraordinary ecosystems.

What the Article Highlighted

Rainforest Rescue’s land-purchasing strategy: Acquiring freehold rainforest properties to protect them from development and preserve biodiversity.
Community empowerment: Working with Traditional Owners, local landholders, and residents to heal degraded land through ecological restoration.
Conservation and ecotourism: Highlighting how protection efforts also help sustain respectful local livelihoods.

Stunning images of the canopy, forest floor, and native species – including the elusive cassowary – brought this message to life, helping international audiences understand both the beauty and the urgency of this work.

Why This Matters

The Daintree is the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, estimated to be over 180 million years old. It is a sanctuary for rare and endangered wildlife, and it plays a vital role in global climate stability and biodiversity.

Through the Protect a Rainforest project, your support enables us to:

Secure high-conservation-value rainforest blocks and protect them forever
Connect fragmented ecosystems through wildlife corridors
Prevent inappropriate development in sensitive areas

This recent global exposure helps us reach more people, grow our impact, and build momentum, and it’s only possible because of your support.

What’s Next?

The journey of rainforest protection continues and what lies ahead is truly monumental.

With your support, Rainforest Rescue is preparing to take on one of our most ambitious challenges yet: the purchase and restoration of a nationally significant wetland that sits at the gateway to the Daintree. This site, within the McDowell Oxbow Wetland system, has been deeply impacted by decades of clearing but it also holds incredible potential.

Beside the Daintree River and adjacent to a property you've already helped us rescue – 110 Cape Tribulation Road – the Oxbow represents the missing link in a thriving, biodiverse corridor of life. If secured, it could become a living showcase of ecological recovery—lush rainforest sheltering restored waterways, home once again to fish nurseries, migratory birds, and wetland-dependent species.

Stay tuned, we’ll have more to share very soon.

Thank You

Every share, every donation, every moment of care helps us protect the Daintree forever.

With deepest gratitude,
The Rainforest Rescue team

Links:

Rainforest Rescue Protecting the Daintree

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