Chapter 15: Land IssuesSamantha, Peter, Marisa, Caroline

Land Degradation

Land degradation is closely linked to poverty in the sense that, as the degree of degradation increases, crop and animal yields decline and people have both less to eat and less to sell to support themselves. (Clark&Wallace,2002).

Types of Land Degradation

Erosion:

is the removal of the nutrient- rich layer of topsoil by either wind or water.

Types of Land Degradation Continued

Wind Erosion:

Wind Erosion can de determined as when the wind wears away at the earths surface.

Types of Land Degradation Continued

The overall average soil erosion for cultivated (prepared for use of ploughing and similar processes) land in North America and Europe is about 17 tones per hectare per year.

Types of Land Degradation Continued

When more severe erosion occurs changes in landscape happen, this is called or referred to as “Terrain Deformation”.

Water Erosion: Landslides and gullies may cut into farmers fields.

Wind Erosion: Dunes may be created, and land my be overblown.

Chemical Deterioration

Chemical Deterioration is referred to as the deterioration of soil as a result of leaching, salinization, acidification, or pollution, can take four forms.

Chemical Deterioration Continued

The first and most important of these is loss of soil nutrients .

In areas of high precipitation (over the amount of evapotranspiration) these nutrients are washed or leached away.

Evapotranspiration is loss of moisture from the soil as a result of evaporation and transpiration from plants).

Chemical Deterioration Continued

The second type of chemical degradation is Salinization. Salinization is an increase in the concentration od soluble salts in the soil to the point where soil becomes toxic for plant growth.

Chemical Deterioration Continued

Two other forms of Chemical Deterioration are less common. Land can become acidified from the overuse of fertilizers or because of poor drainage.

Finally, land can become polluted by the emissions from nearby industries or by the dumping of waste in either liquid or solid form.

Physical Deterioration

Physical Deterioration is the degration of the land caused by compaction, waterlogging, or subsidence. (Clark&Wallace,2002).

Physical Deterioration Continued

Compaction: Land is compacted from heavy machines or by the trampling of animals.

Waterlogging: a result of floods from a certain area.

Subsidence: (or sinking) of land which is caused when a significant amount of later is removed from the water table.

Desertification

Desertification is a special type of land degradation. It is different from the previous other methods in that it refers to the degradation rather than the causes. Desertification occurs when the human activities reduce the productivity of an arid or semi- arid area to the point that it resembles a desert. (Clark&Wallace,2002).

Causes of Land Degradation

Overgrazing: Too many grazing cattle, sheep, or goats, which can destroy vegetation and as a result, soil is exposed to erosion.

Causes of Land DegradationContinued

Unsustainable agriculture: If carried out too intensively to allow soils to renew themselves, agriculture can reduce nutrient levels and can result in salinization.

Causes of Land DegradationContinued

Overuse of natural vegetation: If the population density of an area becomes too high, overuse of vegetation can have an impact similar to overgrazing and deforestation.

Causes of Land DegradationContinued

Urban industrial pollution: In industrialized urban regions, pollution can harm the soil of farms and make the land unstable for farming.

Impact Of Land Degradation

There is a strong correlation between land degradation on one hand and poverty and conflict on the other. Observers rarely acknowledged the contribution of land degradation to tragedies such as famines.

Land loss from Production

Between 50,000 and 70,000 square kilometers of land are lost from production worldwide each year.

20,000 to 30,000 square kilometers being lost because of salinization and waterlogging.

Keeping these measurements in mind, the province of New Brunswick is about 73,000 square kilometers.

Global Patterns of Production

Not all parts of the world are affected equally by land degradation. Parts of the world most affected by land degradation are those least able to afford the lost agricultural productivity.

Solid Waste Management

Garbage disposal, involving primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment of waste.

Disposal of solid waste can cause serious environmental damage. (Clark&Wallace,2002)

For example: sanitary landfills (garbage dumps) can pollute groundwater and even when operating properly, it can produce methane gas.

Types of solid Waste Disposal

Different forms of waste disposal are used in different part of the world.

In North America, we have focused on throwing away our solid waste.

In Europe and Japan, incinerators are commonly used

Types of solid Waste Disposal

Continued 1. Poor people consume less than rich people, therefore they generate less waste.

2. The things that poor people buy typically have less packaging that must be thrown away.

3. Governments in poorer countries do not provide effective methods to handle waste.

4. Waste materials are more likely to be seen as economic resources. People earn a poor living by carefully picking up trash for anything of value, such as food and clothing.

Better Ways Of Managing Our Waste

Always remember the 3 R’s.

Reduce is the best solution

Reuse being the next best

Recycle following Reduce and Reuse

Reduce

Reduce: the idea of not producing waste in the first place is the best approach to waste management.

Referred to as “Source Reduction”.

Source Reduction occurs only when the public demands it. This demand could have 2 impacts: companies may see that there is a demand of consumers who want less packaging, and political parties may realize that they can gain votes if they propose laws that promote less packaging.

Reuse

Reuse: When further reductions in waste creation are not possible the next best-suited approach is reuse.

Reuse applies to not only containers, you have probably walked along the road on garbage pickup day and noticed use full things being thrown out like sofas, tables, toys, or sporting goods.

Recycle

Recycle: The term of recycling has become largely popular in North America and within North American cities as landfills become increasingly more costly to operate and politically less acceptable.

Reconsideration

Reconsideration: Reducing solid waste is not a matter of choosing one or another of the 3 R’s, or of looking at the problem of waste disposal in isolation from other environmental issues.

Reconsider 1

Reconsider 1: In recent years, the city of Toronto had to reconsider how it handles its waste. (Clark&Wallace,2002).

Landfills were closed down and Toronto set out an ambitious plan to divert 70 percent of its solid waste from landfills by 2010. By 2006, the city had diverted 42 percent and was working on ways to increase this amount.

Reconsider 2

Reconsider 2: Significant reduction in the amount of waste going to landfills is admirable but its reactive rather than proactive.

It would be better to deal with the waste reduction earlier in the life cycle of a product. A good way that this can be done is by implanting the idea of extended producer responsibility (EPR).

World Protected Areas

“An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means.” (Clark&Wallace,2002).

World Protected AreasContinued

Category 1 - Strict nature reserve: Focus on protecting the ecosystem and preserving land 

Category 2 - National park: Focus is on both ecosystem protection and recreational activities in an area.

Category 3 - National monument: Focus is on conservation of a cultural feature like waterfalls or archaeological sites.

Category 4 - Habitat/species management: Focus on improving health of habitats

Category 5 - Protected landscape/seascape: Focus on protecting natural environments.

Category 6 - Managed resource protected: Focus on management for sustainable use of ecosystem by local people

Canada’s Protected Areas

Between 1967 and 2007, 26 national parks, national park reserves, and national marine conversation areas had been established. (Clark&Wallace,2002).

Some, like Banff in the West, and Gros Morne in eastern Canada, are world famous and attract millions of visitors each year.

Canada’s Protected Areas

Continued Canada’s national parks

are created based on three principles:

1. To protect natural areas that are significant 

2. To provide for public appreciation and enjoyment for the natural environment. 

3. To maintain the parks in an unimpaired state for future generations 

Activity

You will be given a slip of paper saying either reduce, reuse or recycle. You will then find your group according to which slip of paper you got. Each group will have 5 minutes to discuss ways in which you can reduce, reuse, or recycle in your school community.

References

Clark, B., & Wallace, J. K. (2002). Global connections: Canadian and world issues. Toronto: Prentice Hall.