[3] The tropical forests have the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families in the world.

[4] Only Madagascar and New Caledonia, due to their historical isolation, have humid, tropical regions with a comparable level of endemism.

[2] The Wet Tropics rainforests are a biodiversity hotspot and recognised internationally for their ancient ancestry and many unique plants and animals.

[6] On 9 November 2012, the Australian Government also acknowledged the Indigenous heritage of the area as being nationally significant.

[7] The Wet Tropics of Queensland stretches in part from Townsville to Cooktown, running in close parallel to the Great Barrier Reef (another World Heritage Site).

The heritage site contains the northern section of the Queensland tropical rain forests including the Daintree Rainforest.

[9][10] The World Heritage area includes Australia's highest waterfall, Wallaman Falls.

It is headed by a board of directors responsible to the Wet Tropics Ministerial Council which contains both Queensland and Federal Government representatives.

[1] Australia's rarest mammal[dubious – discuss], the insectivorous Flores tube-nosed bat (Murina florium), is also found here.

[1] One reason for the very high level of endemism is that the geomorphology is diverse, resulting in habitat islands where distinct subspecies have evolved.

The expansion of the sugarcane industry in lowland plains poses a significant threat to some endangered ecosystems.

[9] Invasive pest species are another concern along with internal fragmentation by road and power lines.