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www.rainforestinfo.org
Save the Cassowary CampaignP.O Box 47
Brunswick Heads, NSW 2483
“Save the Cassowary”
Protect the rainforests of the Daintree and Mission Beach from residential development
Campaign background
The number one threat to the endangered Southern Cassowary is the loss of habitat. It is unknown how many of these birds remain in the wild due to a lack of reliable research, however numbers could be as few as 1000. Yet clearing of vital tropical rainforest habitat, driven by residential development, continues to occur. To save this threatened species all remaining habitat must be preserved.
The “Save the Cassowary” campaign is calling on the Australian, Queensland and local governments to take immediate action to protect the entire remaining rainforest habitat of the Southern Cassowary in far North Queensland.
The Southern Cassowary is listed as ‘Endangered’ under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 the Wet Tropics population is listed as Endangered. Governments have an obligation to take action to protect threatened species.
The Cassowary is the third largest bird in the world and an iconic species of Australia’s tropical rainforest. They play a vital role in seed dispersal ensuring the maintenance of biodiversity within the rainforest. The Cassowary and the rainforests they inhabit are also vital components of the regional tourism based economy.
The lowland tropical rainforests of the Daintree and Mission Beach support Australia’s biggest Cassowary populations. Yet in the lowland Daintree rainforest there are 186 properties at risk of development within important Cassowary habitat. At Mission Beach speculative residential subdivision is driving deforestation and destruction of Cassowary corridors. The development of these properties will seriously impact already fragile Cassowary populations.
An increase in residential development within the rainforest not only fragments the rainforest and makes it less resilient to natural disasters such as cyclones, it also leads to an increase in the number of motor vehicle movements and increasing vehicle collisions with Cassowaries, an increase in numbers of domestic dogs that hunt and kill Cassowaries, an increase in fenced areas blocking Cassowary movements and excluding that habitat’s food resource, and an introduction of exotic plants that become weeds that further degrade habitat.
As rainforest clearing and degradation continues the Southern Cassowary is pushed closer to extinction. If the Southern Cassowary is to survive in Australia, the tropical rainforest in the Daintree and at Mission Beach must be protected from inappropriate development.
Save the Cassowary Campaign, P.O Box 47 Brunswick Heads, NSW 2483web: www.savethecassowary.org.au e: [email protected] contact: 0428 556 499
The Solution
A final solution to the problem of development in the Daintree is possible. The most urgent need is funding for the purchase and protection of the 186 undeveloped blocks zoned for development. The reintroduction of the Daintree River Ferry Conservation Levy will provide an ongoing, long term stream of funds for further buyback and for land restoration and management into the future.
At Mission Beach, there is an urgent need for an immediate combination of buyback and incentives for land owners to preserve habitat.
We are calling on all three levels of government to take immediate steps to protect Australia’s population of this internationally significant species by conserving its rainforest habitat,
• We are calling on the Australian Government to commit $30million to the Daintree for the buyback of the remaining 186 properties at risk of development, and to commit $30million to Mission Beach for a combination of buy back and incentives for conservation agreements.
• We are calling on the Queensland State Government to
a) reinstate the Daintree River Ferry Conservation Levy at Daintree
b) prioritise Cassowary habitat in private ownership for the Nature Refuge Program regardless of the size of the property
• We are calling on the Cairns Regional Council to work with State Government to ensure the Daintree River Ferry Conservation Levy is used for ongoing rainforest buyback and rehabilitation.
• We are calling on Cairns Regional Council and Cassowary Coast Regional Council to reduce rates for landowners signing binding conservation agreements in the Daintree and at Mission Beach.
Conclusion
The Wet Tropical rainforests are of international conservation significance and are of enormous importance to the Far North Queensland regional ecotourism based economy.
There is overwhelming support from the local community and national community and the tourism industry to protect the Southern Cassowary and their rainforest habitat.
To save this iconic species, we must protect all of what remains of its rainforest habitat in the Daintree and at Mission Beach. Once developed, the rainforest habitat of the endangered Cassowary is gone forever. We must act now.
Save the Cassowary Campaign, P.O Box 47 Brunswick Heads, NSW 2483web: www.savethecassowary.org.au e: [email protected] contact: 0428 556 499
