Not all Country needs to burn

Cape York Peninsula’s coastline and lowland regions support two of Australia’s most remarkable and fragile ecosystems: littoral rainforest and coastal vine thickets, and lowland tropical rainforest.

These green corridors are not only visually striking; they also act as critical refugia that support rare plants, threatened wildlife and deep cultural connections spanning thousands of years.

While fire plays an important role in many Australian landscapes, these threatened ecological communities are not fire-adapted, and even a single fire can cause damage that lasts for decades.

Protecting these areas is not about removing fire from the landscape but applying it in the right places at the right time. Early-season controlled and cultural burning can act as a proactive buffer for surrounding fire-sensitive habitats.

Find out why protecting these threatened ecosystems from fire is essential in our new factsheet.

This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by Cape York NRM, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.

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