A powerful partnership: QTFN and RR

A Powerful New Partnership – Queensland Trust for Nature and Rainforest Rescue for the Protection and Restoration of the Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland

Partnerships are formed when two individuals or individual entities identify greater value together than apart. With the new partnership between Queensland Trust for Nature (QTFN) and Rainforest Rescue, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

QTFN is a conservation-focused, independent, not-for-profit Organisation, is registered on the Commonwealth’s Register of Environmental Organisations and work with landholders as well as educators, business and government to develop and demonstrate scalable environmental projects on private land. As well as partnering with other landholders the QTFN own and actively manage several properties, including a cattle station and an island in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. So far they have protected 110,000 hectares, safeguarded 56 unique ecosystems, and are helping to protect over 233 threatened species. Through revolving funds, they are able to create an ongoing series of conservation outcomes and are working on ethical carbon and natural co-benefits projects to generate income from protecting nature. They also are the providers of nature refuge certification that protect private lands from development…forever.

They’re a great organisation and are growing and going strong.

Both QTFN and RR recognise that tropical rainforests are one of the most important, complex, unique and threatened ecosystems on earth. We both agree that the Daintree Rainforest is an environmental asset of global importance and we also agree that previous development has had significant impacts on the ecosystem’s integrity. We also both agree that biodiversity is an essential ingredient for the ongoing existence and continued evolution of the Daintree and that protecting all established and endemic forest is of vital importance. Together we can do that more effectively, and at a greater scale.

Before the coronavirus made its appearance, keeping us all in place for the foreseeable future, I had the good fortune to travel to the Daintree with QTFN CEO, Steve Lacey, to explore our commonalities, review our past and present projects, and meet the people who make up our constellation of rainforest rescue and recovery in the Daintree. We packed in the meetings and the activities, meeting with Allen Sheather and Barbara Maslen, who have worked with us for over a decade and continue to help us identify and ecologically evaluate potential rescues.

Meeting with Jabalbina’s CEO, Kupa Teao, at his Mossman office with his staff gave us a glimpse of the future. Plenty of time was spent with Marine at our Daintree Native Nursery. She continues to propagate and grow tens of thousands of Daintree natives for use in our recovery project at NightWings. We met with Annie and her bats at NightWings. We walked the project there with Grant, our Land Manager…from Phase One up to the extension of Phase Four where we are now. We also met with local council officers and talked about potential partnerships, spent quality time with the National Parks officers, and met with the Wet Tropics Management Authority, catching up on the local news and what’s ahead.

And in between all of this – and I only mention some of it – we made a point of visiting some of the beautiful places of the Daintree. From Lot 46 where we’ve successfully restored a rainforest and are about to get it registered as an ecologically rich nature reserve, to the Tree Palm forests, to the Daintree River…and up the valleys. All in all, it was a great experience and the opportunity presented through our partnership is clear. And to start it off QTFN is making a significant contribution to the rescue of Lot 24 Cape Tribulation Rd and the extension of the area that makes up the Cape Kimberley Wildlife Corridor. What’s next? Wait and see. It’s very exciting.

Steve had this to say. “I believe that the preservation and the protection of our beautiful Daintree is utterly crucial. It is a priceless haven for nature that is unparalleled anywhere in the world. Our vision is to manage and promote biodiversity, using innovative, structured programs and partnerships so that our natural environment can thrive. Rainforest Rescue has been buying, protecting and rehabilitating rainforest. In the process, they’ve created an outstanding reputation of conservation. It is these successes which we want to support and amplify. I know that the outcomes of this partnership will be a much needed and positive impact on the biodiversity of Queensland’s landscape in the Daintree. We’re very proud to join forces with Rainforest Rescue.”

We’re very excited to welcome QTFN as a prime partner for restoration and rescue in the Daintree.

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