Importance Of Land Reclamation

Land reclamation refers to the process of recovering land that is damaged and abandoned and making it usable again. There is a need for land reclamation owing to the burgeoning population, inexorably giving rise to the country to provide space for industrial growth, recreation and transport. Spatial constraints are overcome by land reclamation which is key to providing space for the expansion of industries and commercial buildings, recreational facilities as well as houses. The three methods of reclaiming land is namely: landfill, empoldering and reclaiming derelict land. In my opinion, land reclamation is effective to a large extend. Land reclamation helps the government and its people to obtain more land, overcoming the problem of overcrowding …show more content…
It is the creation of a plot of dry land from an area which is previously covered by water such as sea, lake or wetlands. There are five stages which makes up the landfill method. Firstly, to stabilize the sea beds piles are forced into the soft clay of the seabed. Secondly, a sand wall would be built to prevent seawater from entering the reclaimed land. Thirdly, there would be boats with machines to suck up the sand and fill it on the enclosed area. Fourthly, sand is compressed by rollers and granite walls are built. Lastly, trees and vegetation holds soil in place to prevent soil erosion. The landfill method is beneficial as it increases the usable land area, helping some countries which land scarcity poses a serious threat to tide over the land scarcity problem. It also can be used by any purposes such as the building of educational institutions, recreational facilities and industries. While the landfill method creates new land from bodies of water, it however could also damage the environment’s ecosystem as negative effects are imposed on natural habitat such as marshes, leading to a loss in biodiversity. Additionally, land has to be reclaimed from the deeper waters which is costly as more sand has to be supplied to the reclaimed area. The absence of the availability of sand would compound the governments’ financial predicament as well. An example of countries who carry out landfill method would be …show more content…
Derelict land refers to land that is badly damaged and cannot be used effectively. Land can be damaged by human activities and natural disasters like forest fires and severe floods. There are two ways in which a land can become derelict. Firstly, it is through improper farming practices. When different harvests are grown too quickly one after another , there is insufficient time for the nutrients to be replaced, resulting in a loss of soil fertility. Secondly, land can also be damaged through mining activities. Vegetation and soil has to be removed to obtain the minerals form the ground. Holes too would be dug in the ground, causing the land to be derelict. However, derelict land can be restored using fertilizers and irrigation. Waste heaps can be leveled and mining pools can be filled too, contaminated soil can be treated with chemicals. Lastly, new vegetation can be planted to act as a protective cover against soil erosion. Reclaimed derelict land has a few pros and cons. The reclaimed land can be set aside for agricultural, housing, industry and recreational uses. Its limitations include a large amount of resources needed, manpower to ensure the process of this method. However, the reclamation of derelict land is successful due to the fact that land in poor conditions because it is misused, would not be wasted but restored for other varied uses. An example of the reclamation of derelict land