Does tourism affect The Daintree Rainforest?
31st August 2015
The Daintree Rainforest is 135 million years old and is the largest continuous Rainforest in Australia which covers 20% of land mass. The climate is tropical all year round with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius in summer and 25 degrees Celsius in winter. The Daintree Rainforest is situated north of Cairns and is in need of our help to save this beautiful ecosystem.
31st August 2015
The Daintree Rainforest is 135 million years old and is the largest continuous Rainforest in Australia which covers 20% of land mass. The climate is tropical all year round with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius in summer and 25 degrees Celsius in winter. The Daintree Rainforest is situated north of Cairns and is in need of our help to save this beautiful ecosystem.
There are many abiotic factors in the Daintree Rainforest including:
· Rocks which create homes for animals and fauna
· Soil which provides a home for organisms and plants
· Weather which provides sunlight, rain, wind etc, to help plants and animals to survive
· Water which is used for drinking, bathing etc for flora and fauna
· Sunlight which creates photosynthesis to ensure plant survival
· Climate which creates warmth or cold weather to help animals survive
· Air which gives oxygen to all species
· Boardwalks which provide an area for people to admire the beautiful scenery, and provides a shelter for any animals and plants.
There are many factors that are having an impact on the Daintree Rainforest including logging, farming, development, mining but the main one is Tourism. Despite the fact that the forest became heritage listed on the 9th December 1988, people are still able to buy the land and build on it, whether its apartments, town houses or roads, this is unacceptable. Tourism has created more deforestation to make space for the increased amount of hotels and roads that are needed to accommodate tourists. With growing interest in the Daintree Rainforest, more transport is required which increases the amount of carbon dioxide dispersed into the atmosphere and this impacts on Climate change. Not only are there many buses, cars, and 4WD’s but a huge amount of ferries are also used for transporting people across the river and into the rainforest. These ferries are polluting the water from which the trees of the Rainforest receive much of their nutrients as well as the huge supply of drinking water for the animals of the Daintree. This problem is affecting both abiotic and biotic factors of the Rainforest, the abiotic being the pollution of the waterways and air, and the biotic being the polluted water from which the animals are drinking.
There are now over 120 native plant and animal species that are threatened in the Daintree. Currently there are only 2000 cassowary’s left in the wild. Car and bus accidents have been responsible for injuring and even killing cassowaries. Tourists do have a massive impact on the animals that inhabit the Daintree Rainforest. If any of these animals was to become extinct there would be a massive problem with both the ecosystem and the food chain. If we want to avoid more animals being placed on the endangered species list action must be taken immediately.
There are now certain boundaries and restrictions that have been put in place to minimise the impact that we have on the Daintree Rainforest. Rainforest Rescue’s ‘Daintree Buy Back and Protect Forever’ project buys parts of the Rainforest that are of high conservation value in the Daintree. To help raise money they sell things such as cards and have websites from which you can donate money. Similar to this, the ‘Australian Rainforest Foundation’ aim to purchase privately owned land in the Daintree so that they can protect it from development. Other than programs targeting deforestation the Queensland Government have reduced the amount of ferries allowed to cross the water every week. The Daintree Rainforest have also made a rule that tourists must use foot paths and designated roads and trails. Tourists cannot collect flowers, animals or any other living organisms from the Rainforest and take them out of their natural habitat. There have been bins placed around the Rainforest to help reduce the amount of rubbish around the ecosystems. These rules, restrictions and boundaries have been put into place to try and stop the destruction of the Rainforest.
One of the most important aspects of the Daintree is the food chain and its webs. It starts from plants, flowers, fruits, leaves, plankton, and insects stepping up to small animal eaters such as snakes, quolls, kookaburra’s, owls and many more types of birds. After this it steps up to larger animal eaters such as pythons, crocodiles, dingoes, cats, dogs and etc. All these animals are important as they help each other to survive; this is why we need to look after the Daintree so we can take care of all the living creatures. Many aspects caused by tourism including climate change and deforestation can affect the breeding cycle and how many animals are bread which affects the food webs. Tourism can have negative impacts on these food webs so we have to try and protect all flora and fauna to stop this happening. Below is an example of a food web in the Daintree Rainforest:
1) Velvot worm (peripatus) --- àred necked crake (Rallina tricolor) ----à death adder (aconthophis antarcticus) ----àfreshwater crocodile (crocodylus johnsoni)
One of the most important aspects of the Daintree is the food chain and its webs. It starts from plants, flowers, fruits, leaves, plankton, and insects stepping up to small animal eaters such as snakes, quolls, kookaburra’s, owls and many more types of birds. After this it steps up to larger animal eaters such as pythons, crocodiles, dingoes, cats, dogs and etc. All these animals are important as they help each other to survive; this is why we need to look after the Daintree so we can take care of all the living creatures. Many aspects caused by tourism including climate change and deforestation can affect the breeding cycle and how many animals are bread which affects the food webs. Tourism can have negative impacts on these food webs so we have to try and protect all flora and fauna to stop this happening. Below is an example of a food web in the Daintree Rainforest:
1) Velvot worm (peripatus) --- àred necked crake (Rallina tricolor) ----à death adder (aconthophis antarcticus) ----àfreshwater crocodile (crocodylus johnsoni)
The first people to live in the Daintree Rainforest were Aboriginals. They are known as the Kuku Yalanji people and there are more than 16 groups who have associations with the area. These people are distinguished by the language they speak. The Daintree very important to them and they rely on the Rainforest for all aspect of their lives, including food, shelter, medicine and religion. Different aspects of the land, like the mountains and rivers, are important in the creation of the aboriginals’ stories. Information on the Daintree Rainforest is passed down to the younger generation through stories and dances, which is why these are important aspects of the Indigenous people’s lives. The Rainforest protected Aboriginal people from the European settlers for some time. As more and more Rainforest land was cleared the Rainforest decreased in size. This meant that the environment that the Aboriginal peoples had survived in, had changed dramatically. Today, the Aboriginal people that live in the Daintree Rainforest play a very important part in the protection and maintenance of the Daintree. They care for the Rainforest in the same way they always have. They continue to pass on their culture to younger generations by telling the dream time stories and performing dances.
Overall, tourism is having an impact on this beautiful ecosystem and we all have to work together to stop these negative influences. If we can work towards raising awareness, people will become more alert to how important it is to save the Daintree Rainforest. A small change can have a big impact!