The Daintree Oxbow is a unique floodplain landscape at the gateway to the Daintree, where rainforest, wetlands, the Daintree River and globally significant mangroves meet. Once part of a thriving wetland forest, much of the area was cleared for agriculture. Today, there is a rare opportunity to reconnect these ecosystems and restore one of Australia’s most significant floodplain landscapes.

Healthy wetlands do far more than provide habitat for wildlife. They help filter sediment before it reaches the Daintree River and the Great Barrier Reef, improve water quality, store carbon, reduce flood impacts and reconnect habitat for countless native species. Restoring the Oxbow means restoring the connections between rainforest, river and reef.

The Daintree Oxbow is made up of many privately owned properties. As land becomes available, we have the opportunity to purchase strategically important parcels and protect them forever. Each property secured brings us closer to reconnecting the wider landscape and achieving our long-term restoration vision.

Every property is different, but restoration typically begins with site preparation, weed management and ecological planning before locally sourced native rainforest species are planted. Restoration is guided by science, long-term monitoring and decades of experience regenerating rainforest ecosystems.

Restoration takes time, but we know it works. Native forests can recover remarkably well when given the right conditions and careful management. By restoring natural hydrology, reconnecting habitat and planting locally adapted rainforest species, we can help this extraordinary landscape recover over the coming decades.

The Daintree Oxbow sits within the catchment of the Daintree River, which flows directly to the Great Barrier Reef. Healthy forests and wetlands help slow water, trap sediment and improve water quality before it reaches the river and Reef, supporting the health of one of the world’s most important marine ecosystems.

For the first time in decades, several landholders across the floodplain are willing to sell their properties for conservation. Opportunities like this are incredibly rare. As land becomes available, we have a chance to secure and restore it before it is purchased for other uses.

Every donation helps Rainforest Rescue purchase strategically important properties, protect them forever and restore former agricultural land back to thriving rainforest and wetland habitat. Together, we can help reconnect rainforest, river and reef for generations to come.

The Oxbow provides habitat for an extraordinary diversity of wildlife, including Southern Cassowaries, Spectacled Flying-foxes, Black Bitterns, Water Mice and many other birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Reconnecting these habitats gives native species more space to move, feed and breed.

No. While parts of the surrounding landscape, including the Daintree National Park and nearby mangrove forests, are protected, much of the floodplain remains privately owned. Purchasing key properties for conservation allows Rainforest Rescue to protect and restore these important connections across the wider landscape.