Land Clearance and Reclamation

In the recent years, the human population has grown rapidly, so there is a great demand for expansion of the existing boundaries of urban areas to accommodate the increasing population. Modern agriculture nowadays uses more machinery and less labour than before and many farmers cannot afford the expensive machinery. Therefore more farmers move to urban areas. Economic growth and advancement in technology result in the shift of agricultural societies to those based on manufacturing, commerce and services. All of these causes an increase in demand for land, leading to land clearance and reclamation.

Land clearance and reclamation are general practices to satisfy the demands for lands for development. Land clearance involves the conversion of agricultural lands and natural areas such as forests and wetlands into a form that is suitable for urban and industrial development. However it causes many undesirable effects to the natural environment. They destroy the natural habitats and threaten biodiversity in a number of ways. It also causes soil erosion and pollutions. As the forests may be cleared for urban and industrial development in land clearance, the effects of deforestation will be bought out. Trees act as climatic buffer by retaining moisture in the air, cooling down the air, and maintaining the balance of carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere. They also lock up nutrients and maintain their availability to other organisms. They hold the soil and retain eater and preventing soil erosion, flooding, sedimenation. If the forests are cleared there will be great environmental impacts to the environment and humans. There will be loss of nutrients availability, soil erosion, flooding, hotter and drier weather conditions and global warming. When soil erosion occurs the soil may be washed away from the bare ground during heavy rainfall and will pollute the aquatic environment and threaten aquatic lives. Soil erosion also severely affects the stability, structure and texture of soil. The fertility of the soil will decrease when the topsoil is removed, leading to a reduction in crop production. It also lowers the water-holding capacity of the soil making it more susceptible to drought. In severe cases, the entire layer of topsoil and vegetation may be washed away and no more crops can be cultivated and the farmland will be abandoned. Also, the habitats of the forests will be destroyed and causing the reduction in biodiversity.

Reclamation involves the establishment of lands on the sea in costal areas. It has been done extensively to meet the demands for housing, commerce, industry, transport and other facilities. Land reclamation for urban and industrial development usually involves topgraphical and hydrological modifications. The operations include draining and filling of marshes and wetlands, constructing residential houses or resorts on beaches or dunes, building seawalls and extending the shoreline into sea. All these causes great impact on the marine environment in a number of ways. As reclamation often involves the degrading of soft mud at the site and loading of a large quantity of minerals into the site for land formation, which have direct impacts on marine organisms, especially coral reefs. Coral reefs provide a highly protective barrier for coastlines, such as beaches, from the continuous pounding of ocean waves. They also provide an intricate and complex habitat for a variety of fish, mollucus, echinoderms and crustaceans. If the coral reefs are destroyed many marine organisms will loss their habitat resulting the death of these organisms. Land filling also kill marine organisms directly. Physical removal of seabed can cause immediate injuries to the natural marine communities. Clouds of suspended sediment adversely affect marine life through the decrease in light penetration into water for photosynthesis of seaweed and phytoplankton. Also, certain constituents of the sediment may react with substances in the sea and lead to an increase in water temperature. As a result, the water will hold less oxygen and will be detrimental to marine lives.

As the human population is increasing, land clearance and reclamation have to be done to provide more land for urbanization and industrialization. However, we must consider the consequences that brings about for these activities. We should try to make as less harm as possible to the environment. If we can maintain a balance between our development and the environment, we can keep the well-being of our environment and can enjoy the goodness of the nature.