Update July 2025:
Every Daintree rainforest property we purchase for conservation is protected forever and sparks the process for it to be considered for inclusion in the Daintree National Park (CYPAL). We call this our Pathway to Protection. This program is the only formalised, non-government program that purchases land for conservation so it can be owned and managed by Traditional Owners.
Tens of thousands of our supporters have demonstrated their commitment to the Daintree Rainforest and the region's Traditional Owners by donating funds to support the purchase of unsettled, undeveloped rainforest blocks through our Save the Daintree program.
Now, there is a clear Pathway to Protection that allows for these properties to be proposed for inclusion in the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) and protection under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA). Properties can also be considered for protection under a Conservation Agreement (Nature Refuge), another class of protected area under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA).
The Pathway to Protection has been made possible through an agreement between Gondwana Rainforest Trust, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, the Queensland Government and the Wet Tropics Management Authority.
Please watch this video for an explanation of the pathway to protection process.
About the process
As these freehold properties are among the first to be considered for direct addition to the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) under the Cape York Peninsula Tenure Resolution Program, it has been a new and lengthy process that required the cooperation of multiple stakeholders.
We have been working directly with the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Science and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to transfer properties into the CYPAL (Cape York Aboriginal Land) protected area estate. One of the properties acquired under our Save the Daintree program has already been transferred, and 10 others are currently at the final stage (4) of our Pathway to Protection process.
Kelvin Davies, Founder of Gondwana Rainforest Trust
The agreed Pathway to Protection begins with the assessment of properties acquired under the Save the Daintree program by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service staff, to identify any boundary incursions or significant issues such as environmental weeds. A recommendation is then made to the Queensland Government and, when accepted, the transfer of the properties can occur.
Once the process is established, accepted properties will be transferred into the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) as required.
Properties transferred into the Daintree National Park (CYPAL) will then be jointly managed by the Jabalbina Rangers and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
All key stakeholders in the Pathway to Protection process have now inspected properties acquired by Gondwana Rainforest Trust to confirm their environmental values and ecological significance. The transfer of 10 of these properties to Daintree National Park (CYPAL) is set to occur in late 2025.
Recent property acquisitions and properties with encroachments, or other encumbrances, will be processed in future rounds.
About Daintree National Park (CYPAL)
In September 2021, the Queensland Government delivered deeds of grant to the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji People. The land included the Daintree National Park and three other national parks on Eastern Kuku Yalanji Bubu (Country). In addition, an Indigenous Management Agreement was signed for the designation of the Daintree, Ngalba-bulal, Kalkajaka, and Hope Islands national parks as Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land (CYPAL). These national parks total 160,108 hectares and will be jointly managed by Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and the Queensland Government. You can read more about this historic agreement here.
It was necessary for this to be achieved before the process of determining how the properties we had acquired could be considered for inclusion in the national park.
Prior to September 2021, over 250 properties that had been acquired within the original subdivision in the Daintree lowlands by government agencies and not-for-profit organisations had already been added to the Daintree National Park (CYPAL).