Wet Tropics
The Wet Tropics of Queensland is one of a handful of sites worldwide which met all four criteria for World Heritage listing:- represents a major stage of the earth’s evolutionary history
- is an outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes
- contains superlative natural phenomena
- contains the most important natural habitats for conservation of biological diversity
Australia’s most extensive remaining area of wet tropical rainforests is protected here. Other plant communities are also present but the area’s variety and beauty lies mainly in the rainforests.
These rainforests contain an almost complete record of the evolution of plant life on earth. The Wet Tropics has the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families in the world.
No other rainforests in Australia are as varied as those found in this area. These rainforests have many layers and different plant species. Almost 30 rainforest communities occur here and the mangroves are also diverse.
Two World Heritage areas meet at Daintree National Park where the rainforest grows right down to the shore and the fringing reef is just offshore.
Spectacular scenery goes hand-in-hand with many rare and threatened plant and animal species. Examples are the southern cassowary, spotted-tailed quoll and the musky-rat kangaroo.
More than 50 animal species are unique to this area. A third of Australia’s marsupial species, a quarter of the frogs and reptiles and about 60 percent bat and butterfly species live in the wet tropics.
Management of the Wet Tropics also has special regard for Aboriginal interests in the tropical rainforest, given the long history of Aboriginal occupation of the region. The Bama people who live here have a history dating back 50 000 years to the earliest human occupation of this continent.
The Environmental Protection Agency is one of several agencies involved in managing and protecting the Wet Tropics. The Wet Tropics Management Authority is responsible for overall planning to ensure this superb part of Queensland is protected for the world.
Last updated: 14 January 2005
