A living asset for us all
Tropical Rainforests are a precious natural resource. Whilst they only account for approximately 6% of the Earth's total surface, they are home to an amazing diversity of fauna and flora, much of which is not found anywhere else.
- Provide homes to more than 50% of the Earth's species
- Are a living museum of what the Earth's vegetation used to look like, 50-100 million years ago.
- Provide inspiration and excitement to millions of visitors every year.
- Purify our water and clean our air.
- Represent a biological treasure chest of chemicals and genes that could provide important drugs and industrial compounds for future generations.
Ecologically Important & Biologically Diverse
Australia's World Heritage listed Tropical Rainforests
Australia's Tropical Rainforests occupy a small coastal strip in North Queensland, stretching between Cooktown and Townsville. They cover approximately 900,000 hectares of land, accounting for 0.1% of our country's total land mass.
They were World Heritage listed in 1988 and are home to:
- 29% of Australia's frog species.
- 36% of Australia's mammal species.
- 50% of Australia's bird species.
- 41% of Australia's freshwater fish species.
- 60% of Australia's butterfly species.
- 23% of Australia's reptile species.
- 65% of Australia's fern species.
- 30% of Australia's orchid species.
