The Committee recognized that through their personal knowledge of the cassowary, people can provide the key to the sound implementation of the conservation program. The program has made extensive use of volunteer manpower resources. One part-time employee who works 20 hours a week is employed, which makes the programme lost cost. The Johnstone Shire Council provides office accommodation and administration assistance. The program has succeeded in mobilizing people from various sectors of the community.
Government agencies are also intimately involved in various cassowary conservation measures.
Funding from the Wet Tropics Management Authority will pay for full time project officer and an information centre in Mission Beach for two years. Contextual Elements From its strong community base, the project Committee co-ordinates activities of all three levels of government related to cassowary conservation and also utilizes the expertise available within various government agencies in addressing the problems. The cassowary conservation program is based on ecological rather than municipal boundaries, and community participation is as crucial to the sustainability and replicability of the program as it is critical to the protection of the cassowary and its threatened habitat.