The Daintree Oxbow. Rainforest, River & Reef recovery

Thousands of miles away, between two World Heritage Areas, something remarkable is happening.

Along the southern edge of the ancient Daintree Rainforest in the tropical far north of Australia, a unique, hidden landscape has triggered a series of events that could challenge the nation’s approach to natural capital resources and land use. Ecological recovery, industrial agriculture and rural economic outcomes are all in contention.

Themes that echo with many natural capital and rewilding projects in the United Kingdom.

On 1 December, we are bringing the Oxbow story to London, and we'd like to share it with you.

Ancient Ecology meets Future Economy.

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest continually surviving tropical rainforest on Earth, just short of 180 million years and counting. It meets the famous Great Barrier Reef along the only coastline on the planet where two World Heritage Areas touch.

Nestled between these two places is the Daintree Oxbow, a floodplain that was once a rich, teeming wetland forest with a myriad of terrestrial and aquatic species before it was drained and cleared for sugarcane in the 1900s. For over a century, sugar dominated the land and this region's economy. But now, after 127 years of sugarcane farming, the local mill has shut forever.  

Leaving no place for processing, the families who farmed this country are ready to move on. For the first time in living memory, the entire landscape has a chance to recover, rebuild and thrive naturally. 

But will it? 

The Oxbow is a symbol of our changing relationship with the land. One that will be brought to life in film and a rich discussion during this special evening at the Royal Geographical Society. 

Much like this area’s diverse mosaic of habitats, there are a multitude of factors vying for consideration. Our expert panel will challenge the debate around rural land use, environmental and agricultural conflicts, ecological and economic outcomes, and the race to meet ambitious global climate targets at a local level. 

It’s an evening set to highlight why so many projects around the globe have much in common. 

Despite the World Heritage-listed status that envelopes this area, tens of thousands of years of cultural stewardship by the First Nations people, and a local authority promising a ‘sustainable future’ for this region, the Oxbow remains under threat.  

Rainforest Rescue has spent over a quarter of a century in the Queensland Wet Tropics building exactly the capability this moment currently demands. Now we can share the Oxbow story with an international audience. 

We've taken one of London's great historic venues, The Royal Geographical Society, for an evening firmly focused on the future.

Doors open at 6pm with glass in hand. A selection of fine Australian wines and planet-friendly nibbles will be served in the Society's Map Room, among the artefacts of over two centuries of global exploration.

Then to the famous Ondaatje Theatre, a place that enshrines such names as Livingstone, Stanley, Scott, Shackleton, Hunt, and Hilary, for the premiere of a new brief film shot in the Daintree by acclaimed Australian Filmmaker Martin Stringer.

This is a rare chance to get an evocative glimpse of what life is like in the oldest rainforest on Earth.

After the film, we will hear from some of the leading voices in rewilding, restoration ecology, and natural capital funding as they take the stage for a conversation.

Our compere for the evening is Ross Westgate, broadcaster (former CNBC anchor) and co-founder of Gleann Mor Natural Capital.

Joining the conversation:

• Ben Goldsmith — Financier, Environmentalist and Host of the Rewilding the World podcast

• Professor Alastair Driver — Senior Advisor for the Global Rewilding Alliance and former national Head of Conservation for the Environment Agency

• Jessica Fallon — Ecological Recovery and Governance Specialist, Wild Legacy

• Merlin Hanbury Tenison — Cornish Author, Conservationist and Veteran

• Branden Barber — CEO, Rainforest Rescue

Honest, occasionally provocative, and centred on the interwoven themes that matter most: the people, the ecology and the economics of bringing whole landscapes back to life in conjunction with rural communities, the conditions required and how governance and finance can enable them at scale.

There will be a silent auction with a handful of incredible experiences you won't get anywhere else, including a Daintree Ecolodge escape and a photographic print by acclaimed Australian photographer and Canon Master Darren Jew, with more to be revealed.

With a welcome from Paul Rose, Former Vice President of the Royal Geographical Society, and further voices soon to be announced. We'll keep a few surprises for the night itself.

Tuesday 1 December 2026 at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR.

Doors and drinks from 6pm. The program begins at 6.45pm sharp, so please come early. Carriages by 9.30pm.

This is an invitation-only event. When you RSVP, please do let us know of any dietary requirements and the organisation you're with, so we can look after you on the night.

Tax-efficient giving is available for UK supporters.

Come and be part of something genuinely rare. And, we reckon, genuinely great.

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