Letter

In response to The Earth uncloaked – A catastrophe in slow motion

Deforestation a climate and biodiversity calamity

When it comes to deforestation, it’s hard to decide which is the worse consequence: climate change or biodiversity loss. As Julian Cribb notes, “the Earth’s depleted forests are becoming a major contributor to Hothouse Earth”. Deforestation is driving climate change.

Yet forests are the habitat for countless species. All too often, to lose the forest is to lose the species that depend on it. According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, deforestation is a key threat to 60% of Australia’s listed threatened species. At least 1100 native vertebrate animals are “forest-dependent”. Species threatened by deforestation include the koala, swift parrot, greater glider and regent honeyeater.

A species may go extinct before the habitat has a chance to recover. In the case of the greater glider, for instance, it needs nesting hollows that take at least 38 years to develop in new trees.

Yet, deforestation continues apace in Australia, with Queensland and NSW being the worst offenders. The ACF says that between 2016 and 2021, in Queensland alone, 673,250 hectares of koala habitat were destroyed. In NSW, the koala is expected to go extinct by 2050, though thankfully the recently announced Great Koala National Park may mean a stay of execution.

Jenny Goldie from Cooma NSW