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World’s oldest tropical rainforest handed back to Aboriginal owners

Source: Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree/Broadsheet.com.au

In a historic deal, Australia’s Daintree Rainforest on the northeast coast of Queensland has been handed back to its traditional custodians, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people.

Daintree Rainforest Returned to Its Traditional Custodians in a Historic Agreement

The world’s oldest surviving tropical rainforest, the World Heritage-listed Daintree, was formally returned to its Traditional Owners last month. In a formal ceremony on Wednesday September 29, deeds for 160,213 hectares (618.6 sq miles) of country in Far North Queensland were handed to Eastern Kuku Yalanji elders for land that reaches from Mossman to Cooktown, including the entirety of Daintree National Park. The campaign for traditional ownership and management of the Unesco World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park has been a four-year struggle for negotiators. Conservationists have welcomed the decision.

Native title had already been established over much of the land, but the traditional custodians wanted more than recognition. They wanted a say in the management of their land and their cultural heritage.
A historic moment as elders and traditional owners receive the deeds. Native title had already been established over much of the land, but the traditional custodians wanted more than recognition. They wanted a say in the management of their land and their cultural heritage. Source: Holly Richardson/ABC Far North

Historic moment as Daintree National Park returned to Eastern Kuku Yalanji people

The world’s oldest living rainforest has been returned to its custodians in a historic handback ceremony in Far North Queensland.

The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people have taken formal ownership of 160,213 hectares of country stretching from Mossman to Cooktown, including the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park.

"This is where we belong on country, on bubu — on land," Yalanji traditional owner and Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation director Mary-Anne Port told ABC. "All our ancestors called us back to home.’

"I broke down — to get it all back in a battle that we’ve lost so many, young and old, that fought for country and now it’s all back."

Source: ABC.net.au

Within the forest there are over 430 bird species, ranging from the small wompoo fruit-dove to the ferocious cassowary (pictured), a large muscular bird known for being the most dangerous bird in the world. Source: @daintreeicecreamcompany/Australia.com

the first place in Australia where Traditional Owners take on ownership a UNESCO World Heritage Area

The Daintree, along with Ngalba-bulal, Kalkajaka and the Hope Islands National Parks (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land) will now be jointly managed by the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people and Queensland Government. Native title had already been established over the majority of the land, but the Traditional Custodians will now have a greater involvement in its management.

"The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people’s culture is one of the world’s oldest living cultures and this agreement recognises their right to own and manage their Country, to protect their culture and to share it with visitors as they become leaders in the tourism industry,” Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said in a statement.

The 180 million-year old Daintree Rainforest is world-famous for its ancient ecosystem and lush, natural beauty which includes rainforest, rivers, waterfalls, gorges and beaches, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988. UNESCO recognises it as an "extremely important" site of rich and unique biodiversity, with over 3,000 plant species, 107 mammals, 368 bird and 113 reptile species. David Attenborough even described it as "the most extraordinary place on earth".

Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Craig Crawford, who is spending two days in Wujal Wujal, said the land hand-back is the first place in Queensland and Australia where Traditional Owners will simultaneously take on ownership and have a significant role in joint management of a UNESCO World Heritage Area. 

Source: Queensland.com

One of the most distinguishable features of this tropical rainforest compared to those elsewhere in Australia, and the world, is its incredible biodiversity, with large concentrations of plant and animal species found here and nowhere else in the world.
Be engulfed by the welcoming ferns and loose yourself in long winding trails past ancient trees and stunning waterfalls. One of the most distinguishable features of this tropical rainforest compared to those elsewhere in Australia, and the world, is its incredible biodiversity, with large concentrations of plant and animal species found here and nowhere else in the world. Source: @andrewwatsonphoto/Australia.com

important milestone in Queensland’s history

Under the Indigenous Management Agreement, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji People will jointly manage the four national parks with the Queensland government.

"Today is not the end — it’s the beginning of the next step of the process," Kuku Nyungkul traditional owner Desmond Tayley said.

"This was the second part of the native title claim [of 2007]."

Mr Tayley said the managers would work in partnership with governments and stakeholders to make sure they received the full benefit of what they signed and ensure that promised jobs and funding would come through.

State Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the agreement was a "really important milestone in Queensland’s history" that "really rights the wrongs of the past".

"There’s a number of agreements put in place … to make sure that we’ll continue to work in good faith with traditional owners to make sure we are working in genuine partnership," she said.

Mr Tayley said the restoration was a crucial part of the healing process.

"It’s important that we get that back on country and we make sure that our spirit is kept very strong," he said. 

Source: ABC.net.au

Covering over 1,200 square kilometres there is plenty of space to explore and its protection as a UNESCO World Heritage site means this 110-million-year-old rainforest will be around for many more years to come.
With an incredibly diverse landscape and ecosystems, the Daintree National Park is lush and alive with native Australian flora and fauna. Covering over 1,200 square kilometres there is plenty of space to explore and its protection as a UNESCO World Heritage site means this 110-million-year-old rainforest will be around for many more years to come. Source: @andrewwatsonphoto/Australia.com
The river was named after a friend of colonist and explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple.
The area got its name from the Daintree River, which weaves its way along the forest floor. The river was named after a friend of colonist and explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple. Source: @deanjewellphotography/Australia.com
You may even spot the unique echidna or a platypus playing in waterways. In addition to these cuties the forest is home to over 30 types of reptile and amphibians, and hundreds of insect species. With such an abundance of wildlife you can guarantee you’ll see some local critters on your visit. Pictured, another cassowary.
Along the forest floor and in lower branches in the forest canopy you may spot tree-kangaroo, ringtail possum, and bandicoot. You may even spot the unique echidna or a platypus playing in waterways. In addition to these cuties the forest is home to over 30 types of reptile and amphibians, and hundreds of insect species. With such an abundance of wildlife you can guarantee you’ll see some local critters on your visit. Pictured, another cassowary. Source: @australiangeographic/Australia.com
When the continent split, the Daintree drifted away to what is now Far North Queensland and brought with it many species of flora and fauna. In fact, many of the species found here are so ancient that they were thought to be extinct before they were rediscovered deep in the forest!
It is suspected that many of these species originate from the super-continent Gondwana that used to cover much of the southern hemisphere. When the continent split, the Daintree drifted away to what is now Far North Queensland and brought with it many species of flora and fauna. In fact, many of the species found here are so ancient that they were thought to be extinct before they were rediscovered deep in the forest! Source: @solar_whisper/Australia.com
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