The world’s wine industry is slowly but surely moving away from “real” corks to synthetic ones, which are supposed to be more reliable and more protective of the wine inside. Problem is, that obsoletes the cork industry in Portugal, which means that Portuguese cork forests are being developed, which means that the ecosystems of those forests are in danger.
The loss of the cork oak forests would shatter this economy and could easily lead to desertification, Landeiro says, as the cork trees are replaced by other forms of agriculture that are less sustainable and often non-indigenous. Cork oak forests are also less susceptible to wildfires, which destroy some 600,000 to 800,000 hectares of Mediterranean forests each year.
Two wildlife species, the Iberian lynx and the Iberian imperial eagle, are both seriously endangered, but can survive within cork oak forests. If the forests suffer, the outlook for these native animals will also worsen.
WWF estimates the Iberian lynx population has decreased some 90 percent in the past 15 years and population estimates range from 1,000 to only 150. It is the most threatened carnivore in Europe.
So remember, drink naturally-corked wine: it isn’t just good for you … it’s good for nature, too!
There goes the boxed wine industry!
Save the rainforests! Buy paper!
I like what they are doing with cork flooring now. I is a great alternative to hardwood.