The McDowell Oxbow Wetland lies between the Daintree National Park and the Great Barrier Reef, connected by the Daintree River. This nationally significant wetland was cleared for pasture and sugarcane, leaving a degraded floodplain. Your support will help Rainforest Rescue secure this remarkable landscape piece by piece, reconnect rainforest, wetlands and mangroves, restore habitat for wildlife, and protect it forever.
The McDowell Oxbow Wetland was cleared for sugarcane and pasture decades ago, leaving a degraded floodplain between the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. Wildlife habitat has been fragmented, wetlands drained and water quality diminished. Today, key parcels are available for purchase, but if conservation cannot secure them, they may return to agriculture or fragmented private ownership, putting this unique landscape at further risk.
Rainforest Rescue will purchase key parcels across the Daintree Oxbow and begin restoring the floodplain as one connected landscape. Working with ecologists, Traditional Owners and local partners, we will reconnect rainforest, wetlands and mangroves, improve water quality flowing to the Great Barrier Reef, rebuild habitat for threatened wildlife and protect this nationally significant wetland for future generations.
Restoring the Daintree Oxbow will reconnect more than 430 hectares of rainforest, wetlands and wildlife habitat, creating one of Australia's most significant landscape restoration projects. Over time, this work will improve river and reef health, strengthen climate resilience, support threatened species including the Southern Cassowary, and leave a permanently protected natural legacy for local communities and generations to come.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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