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Outdoor Ed Assessment: Daintree Rainforest
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The Daintree Rainforest
Introduction To The Daintree Rainforest
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By: Ramisa Chowdhury, Sanjana Gore & Likitha Kujala
Rainforests & The Daintree Rainforest
The Daintree
Rainforest
Rainforests are areas of tall and evergreen trees in which there is a large area of rainfall. Being the oldest living ecosystems on Earth, rainforests are diverse and complex. They are home to half of the world’s plant and animal species while only covering 6% of the Earth’s surface. The largest rainforests on Earth are surrounded by the Amazon River in South America and Congo River in Africa. Alongside this, tropical islands in Southeast Asia and parts of Australia support rainforest habitats, proving that rainforests thrive on every continent expect Antarctica. The biodiversity amongst this ecosystem is vital for the wellbeing of the planet and people.
The Daintree Rainforest is located in Tropical North Queensland in Australia. Over 135 million years old, it is recognised for being the oldest rainforest in the world.
Nit only is it the largest rainforest in Australia but is also home to many species of animals and plants which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Key Features:
key features
Key features of a rainforest include very high annual rainfall. The Daintree Rainforest receives an annual average rainfall of approximately 3500mm. It’s also strongly seasonal with around 70% falling during the wet season between December and April. High average temperatures are also vital for a rainforest to develop and thrive. Summers at the Daintree Rainforest are hot and humid with a temperature of up to 36˚C and around 22˚C during the winter months. A rainforest contains high levels of biodiversity and nutrient poor soil. The Daintree Rainforest is one of the best biologically diverse rainforests in the world and is home to 30% of Australia’s frog population, 65% of the butterfly and bats and approximately 12000 different insect species. As for the soil quality, growing a productive garden is a challenge in the Daintree as its tropical rainforest soil is exceptionally nutrient poor.
Local Environment:
Our local environment is an urbanised area where plants and gardens are planted by humans in recent decades. Much change and development has been done to the land on which we live in.
compared to
The Local environment
vs Rainforests
Rainforests:
Rainforests have been in existence for millions of years and as mentioned earlier, they are the oldest ecosystem in the world. As for the Daintree Rainforest, it has been in existence for around 130 million years old for most time, remaining untouched. In recent decades, there has been an increase in logging and other human activity which pose as a threat to the Daintree Rainforest.
So what makes the Daintree Rainforest a rainforest?
Classification
Although it stands within it's name, the conclusion that the Daintree Rainforest is classfied as a rainforest environment is due to it's high average temperatures and high amounts of annual rainfall alongside the diverse range of species that it is home to.
The Daintree Rainforest has features of that of a rainforest environment, proving it's classification.
Threats to the Daintree Rainforest
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#1
Environmental Threats & Its types:
First of all...what are environmental threats?
Environmental threats are classified as both man-made and natural factors that influence the landscape or the flora and fauna rates and diversity. It is an umbrella term that can refer to things like, bycatch, deforestation & forest degradation, climate change, illegal hunting & wildlife trade, infrastructure, oil & gas mining, invasive species, flooding, bushfires, water scarcity, earthquakes, pollution of all types, landfill, diseases and many, many more. All these things, especially the human-influenced ones, result in huge ecological footprints. It is a system of measurement that tells us how much resources we have used to a ratio of how much resources we have generated. The scale gives each person an overvew as an invidual compared to the average human. It also provides specifications on what we are overusing or underdoing. This is an extremely helpful tool in aiding us to recoginize the key factors or impacts that can be threatening to environments, especially rainforests in this case.
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So what are the key threats to the Daintree rainforest?
The main threats to the Daintree Rainforest in Cape Tribulation, Queensland are:
1. Climate change.
Climate change is one of the biggest issues in rainforests in general and especially concerning for the Daintree Rainforest. The ever-rising temperatures present in this area could pose as a grave threat, with resports exposing that more than half of to the unique and diverse species of insects, birds, small reptiles that are used to living in cooler temperatures, could lose their gene pool if temperatures even rised to a degree. These endagered species prefer to live in places such as under ferns and old tree roots to hollow and wet holes in tree trunks and watery grasslands near the many rivers and lakes throughout the forest and with climate change taking place, many of these areas are drying or heating up far too quick for the animals to adapt too, resulting in death from dehydration and much more. Moreover, in order to understand the full extent of the process of climate change and its damage on rainforests, there are 3 key things taking place: Firstly, climate change will triggers the temperature to slowly rise, leading to devastating droughts. This then co-relates with the second effect, which is severe rates of scarcity in food supplies. Hence, with the decreased amounts of rainfall and an increase in temperature, the fauna and fauna'so the rainforst declines. Lastly, both these effects cause an overall increase in the number of threatened species. The natural animals living within this habitat who are custom to a lush and moist environment, might not survive in this dry and barer environment. Resulting in further endangered or extinct species, which in the end, causes a domino effect on rainforest’s food chain. (sightseeingtoursaustraliaonline)
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So what are the key threats to the Daintree rainforest? (Continued)
2. Invasive Species:
Another major threat to the Daintree Rainforst over the years are the high rates of invasive species that are threatening the natural life cycle and hierachy of many animals. With these species slowly but surely diverging into the rainforest's ecosystem, the competition for food and mating is higher than ever. Hence the new "owners" are responsible for for high rates of natural habit loss and increased death rates among plant and animal species. On another note, most of these invasive species are introduced by humans themselves and in order to prevent this in the future we should be extra careful, especially in areas with diverse and rare-finding species such as the Daintree Rainforst.
3. Residential development.
Actions such as the clearing of land for road trials and the making of resorts leads to other major impacts such as fragmentation of the rainforest. This means the large natural span of rainforest gets divided into smaller and smaller pieces that are then isolated and prone to erosion from deforestation (the large action of vegetation removal) and the destruction of the area's natural beauty. It can also lead to the damaging of the homes of many rare and endagered species that are known to live specifically in the Daintree Rainforest from people in the area logging. This means they are cutting any commercially valuable tree regardless of which ones are protected by law, cutting more than authorized quotas and/or cutting outside of concession areas. (National Geographic) Reports prove that "Approximately half of the rainforest in these lowlands has been cleared and much of the rainforest that remains has been selectively logged." (Rainforest Rescue) Thus residential development in the Daintree Rainforest remains as the number one threat to the area and is classified as a man-made environmental threat with many devastating after-effects.
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Current programs
Current programs to protect & conserve the Daintree Rainforest
Daintree Ecolodge: Daintree Rainforest Rescue
#1
This team has teamed up with Rainforest Rescue, who are rainforest preservers around Australia and the world. Rainforest Rescue is a non-for-profit organisation which aims to protect rainforests forever, putting an end to the effects of deforestation. The program has been running since 1998.
What are they doing to help protect Daintree Rainforest?
- The approaches being taken towards minimal impact to the area is tree planting. The team has planted more than 50,000 trees in Daintree Rainforest. This can be done by locals as well, with families, the program is called “Plant a Rainforest.”
- As a part of the “Save a Rainforest” project, they also have a Buy Back program, which allowed the Rescue team to protect 31 properties in the Daintree area, and by 2030, their goal is to buy back 180 properties there in the rainforest’s vicinity. Purchasing blocks of land from the government to take care of the land forever is a tactic being used by the team. Purchasing land puts the responsibility of the land into the hands of the Rainforest Rescue team, motivating them to actually care for the rainforest.
- Daintree is home for the Southern Cassowary, which is the bird that more than 70 plant species depend on for seed dispersal. The team has been attempting to protect the home for this animal.
- Research institutions, university study groups and academics have been assisted by Rainforest Rescue to deeply understand parts of the rainforest, which were analysed and best ways to protect it were proposed.
- The final approach being taken by the rescue project is blocking or diverting harmful waterways from entering the Great Barrier Reef.
The CEO of Rainforest Rescue, Julian Gray, believes that they try to ensure that 98% of new plants survive by maintaining those areas of the rainforest.
BEST APPROACH
The most effective approach being taken by the the Daintree Rainforest team is blocking harmful waterways that can lead to the damage of other ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef.
Protecting an environment should ensure that careful approaches are taken to prevent and stop harmful acts, while also keeping neighbouring environments safe, making sure there is not threat to them.
Jabalbina & The Indigenous Community:
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Over the years, the rainforest’s biodiversity has increased, introducing new species into the forest. The land is important for the indigenous Australians who live near and in the rainforest. Being the home to the eastern Kuku Yalanji, it is represented by the Jabalbina Aboriginal Corporation. Their protection habits go way back, being one of the oldest communities in the world, residing in the rainforest for more than a thousand years.
What are they doing to help protect Daintree Rainforest?
- They were handed back 5 national parks in the rainforest from the Queensland Government, marked as the offical deed holders of the parks. This act was made towards reconciliation. These five parks are taken care of, keeping them safe after public use as well.
- Their aim is to rescue as many blocks of land as possible and change them into wildlife habitats, corridors and nature refuges.
Already rescued 37 properties within the Rainforest ranges, 500 hectares of the the habitat has already been rescued. There are around 160 blocks of undeveloped home site land, and more that has been turned into grazing pastures, which can soon be turned back into rainforest land if action is taken.
Best Approach
Bridgestone Australia
This is a tyre company located around Australia, which has taken a small part in protecting the Daintree Rainforest. They collect tyres from their customers, and recycle them to renewable bollards that help protect the threatened part of Daintree Rainforest. These environment-friendly bollards stop vehicles from damaging protected parts of the rainforest.
These bollards are of low environment and visual impact as well, and the company seeks to find better ways in the future to use their technology and recycle their old tyres, finding solutions to influence the upcoming generations.
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How effective are these programs towards threats?
Conclusion
The Indigenous value the land they are on, making this an advantage to the areas of the rainforest under their control. Keeping away the harmful effects of trespassing, deforestation, agriculture and pollution can keep the Daintree Rainforest alive. But again, the Jabalbina Community has access to only a small amount of this vast rainforest.
The major insititute that leads programs to conserve the rainforest is Rainforest Rescue, who have multiple projects linked with their company. Bridgestone's approach to prevent vehicles inside the rainforest's habitat is a miniscule but impactful action, protecting what is already there of the rainforest, and actually preserving it.
Tree planting is another action that is done daily by many around the world, and the program is a way to get to know the rainforest's environment. However, these tiny seedlings are vulnerable to wild weather, animals and even just a slight wind. Yet a successful result of this can bring back all the trees taken away from deforestation.
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Future Suggestions
Current Programs & Modification:
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Rainforest Rescue:
A non-for-profit program from 1998 which plans on conserving rainforest around Australia and the world which consists of:
- Mass tree planting
- Blocking off protected areas with recycled tyre bollards - 'Bridgestone'
- 'Save a Rainforest,' buying blocks of land to protect
- Indigenous protection
In order to modify these programs, it is believed that natural fertiliser is routinely used to effectively regrow deforested or fragmented areas along with the tree planting and indigenous practices such as sectioned burning of dead or unusable land in order to nuture regrowth for vegetation should be implemented. Another way to modify this program is to advertise on a bigger scale and make more interesting slogans or caompaigns to get others to join in and be aware about the real state of the Daintree Rainforest.
New Strategies for Australia's conservation:
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A future strategy for Australia targetted at individuals and communities could be money return on their water bills depending on low usage. This would encourage usage of less water in households.
Schools to implant bringing in programs for students to bring in less packaged foods to school and foods of healthier choices is another community targetted strategy.
A strategy for the national level could be increasing and normalising the use of public transport for most individuals. This can be done through the government placing more stations and buses with more destinations alongside schools and workplaces encouraging their usage.
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Bibliography:
- “Ecological Footprint.” Global Footprint Network, www.google.com/url?q=www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1667825622549870&usg=AOvVaw1oS4qrZx07GbOh-xwMDJmF. Accessed 7 Nov. 2022.
- National Geographic. “Rain Forest Threats Information and Facts.” Environment, 9 Oct. 2009, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/rainforest-threats.
- Rainforest Rescue. “Conservation Value of the Daintree - Rainforest Rescue.” Rainforest Rescue, 13 Nov. 2019, www.rainforestrescue.org.au/conservation-value-of-the-daintree/.
- sightseeingtoursaustraliaonline. “What Are the Threats to the Daintree Rainforest?” Sightseeing Tours Australia Travel Blog, 25 Mar. 2019, sightseeingtoursaustraliaonline.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/what-are-the-threats-to-the-daintree-rainforest/.
- WWF. “Environmental Threats | WWF.” World Wildlife Fund, 2019, www.worldwildlife.org/threats.