New South Wales’ (NSW’s) rainforests are home to almost 400 threatened plants and animals that are listed as threatened and faced with extinction.
From the lush subtropical forests of the east coast to the semi-evergreen vine thickets of the north west slopes, and the warm, cool temperate and littoral rainforests in between, these precious rainforests are incredible living ecosystems that contain the greatest biological diversity of any environment in Australia.
When you visit a rainforest, you have the opportunity to see incredible ancient plants that are direct descendants of the earliest Gondwana flowering forms, and hundreds of animals including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and invertebrates, many of which are endemic to Australia and not found anywhere else on Earth!
Historical clearing for timber, roads and agriculture has drastically reduced the original rainforest footprint. Today, rainforests cover 0.7% of NSW’s total area and, although relatively small in overall size, they provide critical habitat for around 40% of all NSW’s threatened species.
At Saving our Species, we are committed to securing threatened rainforests. Let’s take a look at some of our rainforest conservation projects and find out how we can all help.
Rainforest revival project
A few hundred years ago the Milton Ulladulla subtropical rainforest on the NSW south coast covered an area of more than 5,000 hectares. Clearing has reduced its original extent by 87% to around 650 hectares. Of this, 60% was severely impacted or lost in the 2019–20 bushfires.
“The Rainforest Revival project is a local community forest conservation project located on Murramarang lands around Milton and aims to protect the remaining Milton Ulladulla subtropical rainforest and expand its range” said Dr Beth Mott, Threatened Species Officer working in Saving our Species.
“The project undertakes actions that target key threats to the rainforest, such as from domestic stock, light intrusion, wind and weed invasion, clearing and fragmentation. Working with community to protect these areas not only benefits this endangered ecological community but also helps the Milton community through supporting improved farming practices, local employment, and community cohesion, particularly after the devastating 2019–20 bushfires.”
Project outcomes between 2016 and 2022 have included:
- 13,416 seedlings planted over 16.5 hectares
- 24 hectares of remnant rainforest fenced to keep stock out
- rainforest area increased by 3.5%
- 40 hectares of rainforest weeded
- education and involvement of over 250 community members.
The project also funds and supports local landholders to plant trees to help:
- create shelterbelts that improve stock health and production outcomes
- create more biodiverse environments.
Find out more about the Milton Ulladulla subtropical rainforest revival project and how to get involved.
Protecting rainforest in northern NSW
“I am fortunate to work on the conservation of lowland rainforest and lowland rainforest on floodplain in the NSW North Coast Bioregion,” said Christopher Ormond, Threatened Species Officer with the Saving our Species program.
“These 2 endangered ecological communities are critical habitat that support a rich diversity of flora and fauna.”
An ecological community is a naturally occurring group of native plants, animals and other organisms living in a specific location. An ecological community becomes endangered when the NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee determines it is facing extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future.
These 2 endangered ecological communities support hundreds of species including:
- threatened plants such as red boppel nut (Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia), small-leaved tamarind (Diploglottis campbellii),and red-fruited ebony (Diospyros mabacea)
- threatened animals like the red-legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica), long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) and spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus).
Saving our Species works with partners including Bellingen Shire Council, Tweed Shire Council, NSW NPWS, Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy, Clarence Environment Centre and Bellinger Landcare to protect and restore Lowland Rainforest threatened ecological communities. Actions include:
- managing invasive species
- expanding plantings to address the threats of habitat fragmentation, degradation and weeds.
The work is done on private land, Council reserves, Crown Land and national parks and nature reserves within 6 local government areas from Bellingen to the Tweed. Additional work on flood-affected remnants is helping facilitate their recovery following the devastating northern NSW floods during 2022.
Find out more about lowland rainforest and lowland rainforest on floodplain in the NSW North Coast Bioregion.
Conservation co-investment to protect rainforests
Saving our Species co-invest with partners in projects that benefit threatened species and ecological communities. We do this through the 2022–26 Conservation Co-Investment Partnerships program. Two of these projects benefit rainforest endangered ecological communities.
Conservation actions for lowland rainforests in the Jaliigirr landscape
This co-investment project is managed by the Jaliigirr Biodiversity Alliance. The aim is to manage key threats that impact 29 hectares of lowland rainforest and 5 hectares of lowland rainforest on floodplain in the Coffs Harbour and Bellingen areas.
Conservation work at these sites includes:
- restoration planting
- bush regeneration
- weed control in remnant vegetation to support threatened species and endangered ecological communities.
Science Saving Rainforests Program
This co-investment project is managed by the Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy, who have partnered with Professor Maurizio Rossetto a leading Australian rainforest genetic scientist from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Dr Robert Kooyman, a prominent Australian research ecologist.
The project is using DNA analysis techniques to guide the development of a lowland subtropical rainforest plantation with a diverse gene pool. The goal is for the plantation to produce the seeds needed to grow seedlings with good genetic diversity to use in future plantings in the critically endangered lowland subtropical rainforest. This will avoid inbreeding and help ensure the long-term viability of rainforest restoration plantings.
You can find out more about the Science Saving Rainforests Program.
Collaborating for conservation
Saving our Species develops and delivers conservation strategies in collaboration with some of Australia’s leading rainforest conservation biologists. Informed by research and monitoring, these strategies improve the long-term prospects of rainforest endangered ecological communities and the species that live within them.
These conservation strategies build on decades of research and management, as well as longstanding partnerships between different organisations and individuals.
Learn more
Find out more about the Saving our Species program and how we’re securing a future for our threatened species.
Learn more about Gondwana rainforests of Australia, national parks in which rainforest is found and the threatened species found in rainforests.