The Wet Tropics is where I have chosen to live now and every day I am still learning more and more about this special region. Much of the information in this blog has been copied from Terrain NRM websites: https://terrain.org.au/ and https://www.wettropicsplan.org.au
The Terrain NRM website is full of information, and it is obvious that a lot of time and careful thought was used in its creation. I loved their descriptions of this region. Hence, I have chosen to copy and paste a few sections that I particularly wish to emphasise. The website is now a few years out of date unfortunately.
There are now new threats to this special area that are not described on the Terrain website so in my next few blogs I will be writing about some of these issues. I will also be writing about the role Australia’s natural world plays in climate change and carbon sequestration.
I should note that I am currently Treasurer for an offshoot of Terrain, the Wet Tropics Soilcare group. This group of farmers care for the biota in the soil, reducing fertilizer use while increasing carbon and water in the soil thus protecting the Great Barrier Reef while producing more and better-quality food.
Terrain NRM is an independent, not for profit and community-based environmental management organisation. We think innovatively and act collaboratively, combining the latest science with local knowledge to develop sustainable solutions to increase the resilience of the rainforests, reefs, landscapes and local communities of Australia’s Wet Tropics region.
If you wanted one word to describe the Wet Tropics Region – it would be DIVERSITY.
Have you ever seen a cassawary in the wild?
Photo credits Terrain NRM
The Wet Tropics region is a melting pot of variety with elevated tablelands, vast outback savannah areas and eye-achingly green coastal floodplains nestled between the foot of the highest peaks in Queensland and the Coral Sea.
The region extends from the iconic Daintree forests of the north to the sugarcane land delta of the Herbert River catchment in the south and then west to the dry rangelands of the Upper Herbert.
Natural variation brings universal biodiversity values
The Wet Tropics is literally where the rainforest meets the reef.
This is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Areas are located directly adjacent to one another – the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef.
The great diversity in the rainfall, geology, soils, topography, drainage and altitude has resulted in a complex and extremely varied spectrum of plants and animals as well as many unique landscapes crafted by nature as well as human activity.
It is a region of contrasts.
The community of the Wet Tropics
Over 250,000 people call the Wet Tropics home and work in a variety of industries. The tourism and primary industries sectors form the foundation of the region’s economy.
Cairns is the largest urban centre in the Wet Tropics region with a population of over 150,000 people from 35 nationalities.
The Wet Tropics is home to a rich, vibrant and enduring Indigenous Rainforest Cultural Heritage, handed down since millennium within the many different Traditional Language Groups. These comprise 20 Traditional Owner Tribal groupings with over 100 clans and family groupings. Over 80 legal entities represent Land People and Culture.
In November 2012, the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area was re-listed to formally include its cultural values. This listing recognises that Rainforest Aboriginal heritage is unique to the Wet Tropics and is a remarkable and continuous Indigenous connection with a tropical rainforest environment.
Wet Tropics Biodiversity
Because of the enormous diversity in altitude and climate, the Wet Tropics region is truly a biodiversity hot spot of global significance.
Directly descended from Gondwana Land, pockets of rainforest in this region have survived 8 major stages of evolutionary change over 415 million years and have more life forms with primitive characteristics than anywhere else in the world.
These origins, along with the varied climate and the dramatic shape of the land, combine to create the perfect conditions for mega-biodiversity.
The Wet Tropics contains half of Australia’s bird species, one third of the continent’s mammals and about 3,000 plant species.
Endemic and Rare Species
The Wet Tropics is home to numerous endemic species, which means that they are found nowhere else in the world; many are rare and threatened plants and animals. Of particular interest is the Southern Cassowary, the Mahogany Glider and the Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo, a kangaroo which actually lives in the treetops of the threatened Mabi Forest.
The endemic and rare species don’t all live in protected areas. Visit the Rainforest Reserves website and learn about the Magnificent Brood Frog or the Northern Greater Glider or the Red Goshawk threatened by the Chalumbin Wind Project. https://www.rainforestreserves.org.au/
See them on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAaZWlhBhMQ&t=6s
Biodiversity and Traditional Owners
The ecosystems of the Wet Tropics region have also evolved over thousands of years through active Aboriginal interaction with the land and management of its resources. The plants and animals of the region are a fundamental and integral part of many aspects of the life and culture of Traditional Owners.
Biodiversity and Climate Change
Due to its diversity and the unique warm and wet climatic conditions and altitudinal variation, it is anticipated that the Wet Tropics region will be a really important refuge for quite a number of species in a changing climate. For example, species from further west may move into the Wet Tropics as it becomes drier. Species that currently call the coastal areas ‘home’ may move up the mountain slopes to cooler locations.
Threats to Biodiversity
Although 35% of the Wet Tropics region is in the World Heritage Area, the precious and unique plants and animals are still not adequately protected. There are many threats which, unless dealt with, will continue to erode the extraordinary biodiversity values of this region.
Habitat destruction and fragmentation are top of the list as they destroy ‘homes’ and limit the ability of animals to move and interbreed. Pests and weeds, which are rampant in this warm and wet climate, are another significant threat, while pollution, changing fire regimes and changes to waterways also play a part.
Protecting Biodiversity
Australia is in a unique position to protect the biodiversity of this region. Of the 17 ‘megadiverse’ countries, only 2 are developed. Australia’s low population and continental sovereignty provide a unique opportunity for Australia to be world leaders in the protection of the amazing spectrum of plant and animal life that call this region home.
Everyone has a role to play in keeping their footprint as light as possible, respecting the right of other species to exist and flourish, as well as sharing information about the importance of our plants and animals with future generations. The ecological, economic, cultural and social fabric of our Wet Tropics lives depends on this.
The Wet Tropics Bioregion
The Wet Tropics Bioregion, although only accounting for 0.26% of the total area of Australia, conserves a large proportion of Australia’s biodiversity, as demonstrated in the table below (from Goosem, 2002).
| % of Australian Total | |
| Wet Tropics Bioregion land area | 0.26% |
| Animals | |
| Mammals | 35% |
| Birds | 40% |
| Frogs | 29% |
| Reptiles | 20% |
| Freshwater fish | 42% |
| Butterflies | 58% |
| Plants | |
| Vascular plants | 26% |
| Ferns | 65% |
| Cycads | 21% |
| Conifers | 37% |
| Orchids | 30% |
NB: the Wet Tropics bioregion (ca. 2 million hectares) does not fully align with the Wet Tropics NRM region (2.2 million hectares), and notably does not include the Upper Herbert .In either case, the rivers of this area all flow into the Great Barrier Reef.
Goosem, S. (2002). “Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area – including an Update of the Original Wet Tropics of Queensland Nomination Dossier”. Wet Tropics Management Authority, Cairns, QLD.
Our People of the Forest
Many Aboriginal people in the region have a mutual obligation or totemic relationship with certain animals or places.
The ecosystems of the Wet Tropics region have evolved over thousands of years through active Aboriginal interaction with the land.
Activities such as fire management, hunting, gathering, harvesting of materials for shelter, tools, ceremony and art and craft have always been integral to the ecology of the Wet Tropics.
The plants and animals of the region are of great importance to Aboriginal culture and there are many customs, stories, songs and dances associated with them. They are a fundamental and integral part of many aspects of the life and culture of Traditional Owners.
Traditional Owners don’t view the plants and animals of their landscape as resources to be exploited. Looking after Country and all the species that live there is a natural obligation for Rainforest Aboriginal People.
Many Aboriginal groups in the region have a totemic relationship with particular animals or plants which are considered their totems.
This means they must abide by the many social and spiritual responsibilities related to that totem and respect and conserve the totem by refraining from eating that species.
Traditional Owners across the whole region have grave concerns about things that threaten the health of the plants and animals of the Wet Tropics, including vegetation clearing, habitat fragmentation, pests and weeds, urban development and climate change.
There is a sense that there isn’t enough awareness of the cultural importance of the plants and animals of this region, and they would like to create more awareness.
They also want to be part of the solution and be respectfully involved in, and benefit socially, culturally and economically from research, planning, monitoring and management of plants and animals.
Please note the green areas on this map. It is such a small area. Please help to save it!
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