Perhaps you do your part to conserve by using less paper, paying bills and receiving bank statements online, and choosing wood products carefully. Unfortunately, many people are blissfully ignorant of deforestation; many others who are aware of deforestation itself are unaware of the widespread problems it causes. Here, we’ll take a closer look at the deadly link between unsustainable tree harvests and coral reef decline.
Widespread Deforestation and Devastating Consequences
Nigeria, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Malawi are the top five nations with the worst deforestation. The problem is also rampant throughout the Amazon, and as human demand for wood products and for products grown in areas where forests once thrived increases, widespread deforestation continues unabated; by the end of 2011, about one half of the world’s forests had been destroyed. Now, the problem is spreading to Madagascar – and the results are devastating.
Trees and other plants not only help promote a healthy atmosphere by producing oxygen and consuming carbon dioxide, they also serve as a natural soil stabilization system, preventing landslides and ensuring soil does not run off into waterways. Because so many trees have been removed, rivers that run through Madagascar’s ravaged forests are carrying much more sediment than they once did. This sediment makes its way to the ocean, where it smothers coral reefs, increases disease, and suppresses new growth.
Madagascar has long suffered the effects of deforestation. The area surrounding Antongil Bay has been cleared of forests to make way for cattle grazing and rice cultivation; what forests remain have been greatly impacted by illegal ebony and rosewood logging to feed the exotic wood trade.
In studies published in the journals Marine Pollution Bulletin and Biogeosciences, scientists studied coral communities located in Antongil Bay and Western Madagascar. One reason they focused on these areas is that Antongil Bay is not only Madagascar’s largest; it is an important nursing area for Humpback Whales. Without clean water, these whales will be forced to search for a new place to rear their young and other marine life will suffer along with people who rely on a healthy marine environment for their livelihoods.
During the study, researchers analyzed a variety of corals with luminescent bands that show the tiny animals’ growth rate in much the same way growth rings on a tree illustrate its life history. What they found was alarming. Jens Zinke of the University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute, corals located near rivers’ mouths showed “clear signs of disease and distorted growth patterns.”
Zinke went on to say that “Results from the study suggest that changes in land use – primarily the removal of forests – and Madagascar’s increased population density are the key drivers of long-term reef sedimentation trends. This is the first direct evidence that catchment activity in Madagascar through deforestation and land use practices affects near-shore reef ecosystems.”
Just as important, the results of the study underline the need to implement land-use management policies when designing coral reef protection programs, no matter where they are located. Zinke states that “There is a dire need to combine efforts on terrestrial and marine conservation in unison to sustain Madagascar’s biodiversity.”
It is more important than ever to make ecologically sound choices with regard to wood and paper products, and to pay close attention to other seemingly unrelated products we consume. Only when demand for unsustainable products is eliminated will the relentless march of logging machinery come to a halt.