Impact of Sugarcane Farming on the Health of the Great Barrier Reef

Running head: SUGARCANE FARMING AND GREAT BARRIER REEF
Impact of sugarcane farming on the health of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia
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1SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Aim of the Paper
The aim of this paper is to analyze the adverse effects of sugarcane farming and the
pollutants released by the farms on the health on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
Background of the Paper
In Australia, adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef, there are more than 3,000 sugarcane
farms and also other agricultural farms which span over a land area of more than 360,000
hectares (Wwf.org.au, 2019). More importantly, it is seen that these farms use different kinds
of fertilizers as well as pesticides for enhancing the growth rate as well as the quality of the
sugarcanes and also other agricultural products. Furthermore, these fertilizers as well as
pesticides are not biodegradable and often run into the water bodies which are adjacent to
them (Bell, Elmetri & Lapointe, 2014). The water of these river bodies in turn gets connect
with the coastal floodplains wherein the Great Barrier Reef is located.
Figure 1: Use of Fertilizers in sugarcane farms
Source: Huffingtonpost.com.au, 2019

2SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
The major problem arises because of the fact that these fertilizers as well as pesticides
form sediments in these coastal flood plains which greatly support the coral reefs and thereby
adversely affect their health and viability. Furthermore, they have significantly reduced the
quality of the water by enhancing the level of nitrogen in these water bodies which greatly
support the life of the coral reefs (Huffingtonpost.com.au, 2019). This is important because of
the fact that the coral reefs for sustaining themselves need quality water with high content of
oxygen in the same (Bell, Elmetri & Lapointe, 2014). As a matter of fact, a research
conducted by Wwf.org.au (2019) clearly states that if the amount of sentiments flowing into
the water bodies is not reduced by half and no efforts are being taken for improving the
quality of the water then it is expected that the coral reefs of Australia would be reduced by
more than 80%. Needless to say, this poses a significant amount of threat to the marine
ecosystem of the concerned nation and its water bodies which greatly support the life of the
corals.
Figure 2: Damage caused by the fertilizers on the health of the Great Barrier Reef
Source: Wwf.org.au, 2019