Gondwana Rainforest Trust works with a range of organisations that align with our cause and assist us to have impact, achieve meaningful conservation outcomes and work toward a vision of a rewilded Daintree rainforest back to a pristine ecological system managed by its rightful owners. We work very closely with our strategic partners to ensure that we design and deliver conservation programs efficiently and that we reach a diverse range of people to provide them with as many opportunities to support our cause as possible.
Our primary strategic partner for the Save the Daintree program is the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation.
Subsequent to a native title determination that included the settlement of 15 ‘Indigenous Land Use Agreements’ (ILUA’s), the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people established the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and the Jabalbina Land Trust in 2007 to represent the interests of the native title holders. Gondwana Rainforest Trust transfers properties purchased under its Save The Daintree Program which have outstanding environmental values to Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation. The Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation works with the Queensland State Government to have the blocks added to the Daintree National Park estate, to be jointly managed as National Park within Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land (CYPAL). With support from Traditional Owners, the state is also converting existing national parks, to be jointly managed with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service as national parks under the CYPAL agreement, with Aboriginal freehold as the underlying tenure.
The achievements of this program were acknowledged in the 2021 Queensland Reconciliation Awards and received the Partnership Award and the Premiers Choice Award. The Save the Daintree program and the partnership between Gondwana Rainforest Trust and Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation is built on respect, care and the shared values of protecting the Daintree’s globally significant conservation and cultural values while also reconnecting people with Traditional Land.