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

Running head: SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE 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
Introduction
As opined by Hughes, Kerry and Simpson (2018), pollution had emerged as one of
the major wicked problems that the contemporary world is facing and this in turn is greatly
threatening the survival of the world. Graham et al. (2015) are of the viewpoint that because
of the problem of excessive pollution the world is facing various kinds of problems like
climate change, coral erosion, increase in number of diseases and its resultant death, changes
in the breeding patterns of the animals and birds, extinction of different animals and others
(Refer to Appendix 1). More importantly, it is seen that the adverse effects of the process of
excessive pollutant is adversely affecting the human beings, animals and the plants alike by
significantly affecting the quality of life that they lead (Hughes et al., 2017). One of the most
adverse effects of the process of pollution is the problem of coral erosion which in turn had
adversely affected the health as well as survival of the different coral reefs of the world under
the oceans or the seas. In this regard, mention needs to be made of the adverse effects of the
excessive pollution in the nation of Australia is taking a toll on the heath of ‘The Great Coral
Reef’ of Australia (Mellin et al., 2016). For example, it is seen that the different pollutants
released by the sugarcane farms which are adjacent to the “The Great Coral Reef” are
adversely affecting the health as well as the well-being of the corals and had also
significantly reduced the coral area of the concerned nation as well. The aim of this paper is
to analyse the adverse effects of sugarcane farming and the pollutants released by the farms
on the health on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s ‘The Great Barrier Reef’ is the largest coral reef of the world and covers
an area of more than 900 islands which comprises of a land area of 2300 kilometres or
roughly around 344,400 square kilometres (Greatbarrierreef.org, 2019). More importantly, it

2SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
is seen that the concerned reef consists of more than 2,900 individual reefs which makes it
the largest one of the world not only in terms of the number of coral reefs that it boasts of but
at the same time in terms of the land area that it covers (Nationalgeographic.org, 2019).
Furthermore, the coral reef under discussion here is situated in the Coral Sea which in turn is
located near the coast of Queensland, Australia. Moreover, the concerned reef supports the
life of millions of sea animals as well as plants and is one of the very few areas which is
actually visible clearly from the outer space (Environment.gov.au, 2019). In the year 1981,
the coral reef under discussion here was declared a “World Heritage Site” not only because of
the large number of planets and animals that it supported but also because of the
environmental contributions that it makes (Greatbarrierreef.org, 2019). In this regard, it needs
to be said that the concerned coral greatly supports the marine ecology of the Coral Sea and
contributes in a substantial manner to maintain the status quo of the marine ecosystem of the
concerned sea (Hughes et al., 2018). In addition to this, the Great Coral Reef is often called
by the name of the “Wonder of Australia” and in the recent times it is seen that tourism had
been started around this area not only to support to economy of Australia but also to help in
the sustainable development of the concerned reef as well (Nationalgeographic.org, 2019). As
a matter of fact, it is seen that the Great Coral Reef of Australia generates more than AUD$3
billion every year because of the different kinds of tourism activities are being organised at
the concerned reef (Environment.gov.au, 2019). However, in the present times it had been
seen that the problem of pollution is adversely affecting the natural health of this coral reef
and thereby greatly threatens its survival (Refer to Appendix 2).
Sugarcane farming and its effect of ‘The Great Barrier Reef’
Ainsworth et al. (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that one of the major sources of
pollution which is adversely affecting the health and thereby the survival of the Great Coral
Reef are the run-offs from the pesticides, fertilisers, chemical growth enhancers and others

3SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
which are being used in the sugarcane farms near the Coral Sea. In the nation of Australia, it
is seen that sugarcane planting forms an integral part of the economic framework of the
concerned nation. As a matter of fact, the nation of Australia is one of the largest producers
of sugarcane of the world and every year produces more than 35 million tonnes of sugar
(Agrifutures.com.au, 2019). In addition to this, it is seen that the sugarcane production of the
concerned nation had increased in an exponential manner over the years because of the usage
of advanced machineries, pesticides, fertilisers and other kinds of chemicals for enhancing
the growth rate of the sugarcane plants (Research.csiro.au, 2019). However, the problem
arises because of the fact that the majority of the sugarcane farms of Australia are located
near the Coral Sea because of the suitable conditions presented by the concerned area (Refer
to Appendix 3).
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. 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

4SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
(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.
The different kinds of threats that the ‘The Great Coral Reef’ is presently can be
attributed to the diverse ineffective farming techniques used by the sugarcane farms which
are located in the Queensland area of Australia adjacent to the Coral Sea (Van Grieken et al.,
2019). In addition to the problem caused by the excessive usage of different kinds of harmful
non-biodegradable pesticides, fertilisers, chemical growth enhancers and others there are
other factors as well which have contributed towards the different challenges faced by “The
Great Coral Reef’. For example, in the majority of the sugarcane farms it is seen that the
dried sugarcane plants are being burned rather than disposing them off through the usage of
different kinds of techniques that would cause a lesser amount of environmental pollution
(Star et al., 2018). However, because of technique of burning which is being used by the
majority of the sugarcane farms it is seen that not only the level of air pollution had increased
in an exponential manner but also the extent of water pollution as well. These different kinds
of pollutants in turn get assimilated into the natural water of the Coral Sea which in turn is
adversely affecting the normal health of ‘The Great Coral Reef’ and thereby the marine
ecosystem of the entire sea under discussion here. For example, it had significantly enhanced
the level of coral bleaching which in turn had not only reduced the number of coral reefs but
at the same time is also adversely affecting the remaining coral reefs as well (Refer to
Appendix 4).

5SUGARCANE FARMING AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Rolfe and Harvey (2017) have articulated the viewpoint that the problem of coral
bleaching arises when the different corals of the coral reef system expel algae (zooxanthellae)
which live in their tissues and this turn gives a white appearance. As opined by Liang et al.
(2018), the process of coral bleaching does not kill a coral reef but at the same time it
adversely affects the mortality rate of the concerned coral as well as its ability to support the
life of the plants or the animals that are dependent on it for their sustenance. In this regard, it
needs to be said that one of the most factors for the process of coral bleaching is the fact that
the waters of the oceans or the seas which support the different kinds of corals are turning
warm and this in turn accelerates the process of coral bleaching. In the particular context of
‘The Great Coral Reef’, it can be said that one of the most important factors which had
directly contributed towards the increase in the temperature of the water of the Coral Sea and
thereby accelerated the process of coral bleaching is the high amount of pollution caused by
the sugarcane farms that are located adjacent to the Coral Sea in the Queensland area of
Australia (Kroon et al., 2016). The majority of the pollutants released by the sugarcane farms
are non-biodegradable in nature and they in turn not only forms sediments in the floor of the
ocean but at the same time over the years have caused the temperature of the concerned sea to
increase in a substantial manner as well.
Deane et al. (2018) have stated the viewpoint that the sugarcane farms which are
located near the Coral Sea have also adversely affected the health as well as the mortality of
‘The Great Coral Reef’ by enhancing the process of eutrophication in the Coral Sea. For
example, the polluted water which gets disposed within the Coral Sea had significantly
reduced the nitrogen content in the water of the Coral Sea and this in turn had significantly
enhanced the process of eutrophication in the concerned sea (Davis et al., 2017). More
importantly, because of the excessive algal bloom on the surface of the Coral Sea had in turn
significantly reduced the oxygen content of the concerned sea and this in turn is fast depleting