Black Jungle Conservation Reserve

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Black Jungle / Lambells Lagoon Conservation Reserve Black Jungle and Lambells Lagoon[1], Northern Territory
IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources)[2]
Black Jungle / Lambells Lagoon Conservation Reserve
Coordinates	12°30′08″S 131°11′39″E / 12.50224101°S 131.19429779°E / -12.50224101; 131.19429779[2]
Established	25 March 1986[2]
Area	49.51 km2 (19.1 sq mi)[2]
Managing authorities	Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory
See also	Protected areas of the Northern Territory

The Black Jungle Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia near the territorial capital of Darwin. The rural area of Darwin and its development has a contrasting history to the more southern regions and their rural zones. The development of the rural area around Darwin occurred after 1950 as agricultural ventures were trialed. Prior to this the area was tropical savanna with pockets of monsoon rainforest and melaleuca swamps, unchanged for thousands of years, except by the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land who hunted and gathered and managed the landscape with fire. Black Jungle Conservation Reserve is a part of the Adelaide River Coastal Floodplain system which encompasses Black Jungle and Lambells Lagoon Conservation Reserves, Fogg Dam, Leaning Tree Lagoon Nature Park, Melacca Swamp and Djukbinj National Park. These Reserves encompass a range of wetland types and form part of the internationally significant Adelaide River floodplain.

These wetland habitats are important due to their high conservation value, supporting a variety of rare and threatened species; large waterbird populations, monsoon rainforests, breeding grounds for the estuarine or Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), and the highest global recorded biomass of predator and prey species (water python and dusky rat). The wetland systems with its diverse landscapes include sites of ritual, mythological and spiritual significance to the traditional owners and have been a source of abundant traditional foods, medicine plants and other resources. Some of these areas also contain historical World War II sites.