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Massive Clearing for Beef Threatens Great Barrier Reef
10 Sep
Summary
- Native bushland cleared for cattle grazing impacts Great Barrier Reef.
- Citizen scientists mapped 30,000 hectares of bulldozed forest.
- Major supermarkets struggle to meet deforestation-free beef targets.
Vast tracts of native Australian bushland are being cleared for cattle grazing, jeopardizing the Great Barrier Reef and national climate targets. A citizen science study, analyzing satellite imagery, identified 30,000 hectares of bulldozed forest across 150 sites, with further clearing potentially reaching 300,000 hectares annually.
Concerns are mounting as this land clearing contributes sediment and nutrient runoff to the Great Barrier Reef, second only to global warming as a threat. Most clearing occurs in Queensland and New South Wales, primarily for beef production, destroying habitats for threatened species like koalas. Despite commitments, major beef buyers, including Coles, Woolworths, and McDonald's, are struggling to meet their 2025 targets for eliminating deforestation from their supply chains due to traceability issues.
The Australian Conservation Foundation has reported numerous cases to the newly established National Environmental Protection Agency, urging a crackdown on illegal practices. Industry groups, however, dispute the findings, questioning the methodology and suggesting misidentification of cleared land. The debate continues over the effectiveness of existing systems, like the National Livestock Identification System, for verifying deforestation-free beef.
