Unit 2 Creating New Lands Through Reclamation

2.1 The need to create new lands. Why is changing the physical environment necessary? How are these changes made possible? Read TB:10-11.

Why the need to create new lands?

2.1 The need to create new lands More land is needed for Industriesagriculturehousingrecreationtransportcommerce

2.1 The need to create new lands Land reclamation - The process of increasing the amount of usable land New lands created by draining swamps restoring useless quarried land reclaiming land from the sea

Learning Outcomes Only 10% of the land on the Earth’s surface is available while the world’s population is growing rapidly. Land reclamation is one way to meet the demand for land in Singapore.

Unit 2.2 Land reclamation through draining swamps

Activity Box: Describe the physical environment in Fig – Swamps are water logged and soggy; – They are unproductive. 2. Why are swamps considered wastelands? – They only support mangrove vegetation which is of little use to humans.

Activity Box: 13 The main method of draining coastal swamps is by building coastal bunds to prevent sea water from flooding the area and then building canals to drain water away from the waterlogged areas.

What do you think are the benefits brought about by the Karang Land Reclamation Scheme? –Better usage of land; –more rice harvest, more food production. ABK Unit 2 Ex.1.

Swamps in Tanjong Karang are converted into arable lands. The building of more extensive irrigation works at Sungei Bernam enabled two harvests of rice annually instead of one.

ABK:6-7 Before the reclamation of swampland, the villagers led a slow-paced life. They were poor and did not have a regular income. To supplement their food, some looked for mud crabs in the nearby swamps and river banks. Those who did not have anything to do idle their time away. The more enterprising ones would sell drinks and have cooked food in makeshift stalls by the roadside, or engage themselves in fishing and gardening.

Those who are fortunate enough grew rice in small padi plots. Since reclamation has taken place, there was a noticeable change in the villagers’ lives. The people took pride in the area around them, and this can be seen in the upgraded houses which are now possible with the extra cash they have. The government authorities helped them to upgrade their standard of living by encouraging them to learn new methods of cultivation.

However, these changes are not possible without hard work, family help and co-operation with other villagers in farming chores like ploughing, weeding, sowing and harvesting.

Learning outcome…. Tanjong Karang Reclamation Scheme is an eg. of how human technology can make a positive change on the landscape by draining the swamps and making the area into productive rice fields. I understand that from a landuse point of view, swamps are wasteland. However, there are other points of views that need to be considered first.

2.3 Restoration of derelict land Derelict land - An abandoned piece of land which is damaged and useless What do you see? How do you feel about it?

Activity Box:14 Destruction of land / wasteland. Unsightly. The excavator can destroy plants and micro- organisms found in the soil. ABK:8-9. In your groups, come up with possibilities you can put a piece of derelict land to good use.

ABK:8-9 Possibilities: –create farmland; –build a theme park; –build roads / railways; –use the soil for building materials; –build industries / factories; –build an airport; –build a reservoir; –create underground cities; –landfills for garbage disposal.

Kinds of possibilities... Tourism –theme park; –shopping centres / hotels; –recreational area. Housing –underground cities; –use of soil for building material –residential area

Kinds of possibilities... Industries –build factories; –heavy industries like smelting plants. Environment –create reservoirs; –use as landfill for garbage –use the soil for reclaiming land from sea.

Unusual possibilities... Theme park shopping centre / hotels underground cities; use of soil for building material heavy industries site create reservoirs use as landfill use of soil for reclaiming land from the sea.

Learning Outcome I understand that some human activities like mining have damaged land and caused it to be useless. However, derelict land can be made more useful through reclamation.

2.4 Reclaiming land from the sea through empoldering Empoldering - The process of reclaiming land from the sea to create polders Zuider Zee Dam Polder

2.4 Reclaiming land from the sea through empoldering TB:16

Stages of empoldering: Building a dyke to separate part of the sea or lake. Pumping out water of the shallow area or lake to be reclaimed. Growing reeds on the reclaimed land or polder. Later, the reeds are burnt and other types of vegetation are grown to stabalise the soil.

Impacts of empoldering the Zuider Zee. Read the views of the 6 Dutchmen and state whether their views are positive or negative. ABK:10-11

1. The sea helps provide the Dutch people with a food source, but at the same time causes damage by flooding. 2a. Dykes are man-made barriers designed to hold back water. 2b. It became a lake when dykes were built across the mouth of Zuider Zee.

ABK: a. Polders are cultivated lands which used to be the sea bed. 3b. It means that none of the land is wasted, every part of the land is used for some form of farming. 3c. Polders are best used for farming crops and also rearing dairy cattle. 3d. It gave them more land to farm their crops and cattle.

ABK: It is a process whereby an area of the sea is reclaimed and converted to farmland by building dykes. 5. Similarities: –both are reclaimed land; –both have man-made walls to hold back water. Differences: –different crops grown; –TK used to be swampland, while ZZ is reclaimed from sea.

Summary (1) Limited land space There is always a limit to land space. Competition for land Humans have many different needs which require space. The demand for land space creates competition for land.

Case Study: Land reclamation in Singapore

Why Land Reclamation? Large-scale land reclamation has been undertaken in different parts of Singapore since the 1960s. This is necessary because of the small size of the country (total area being about 581.5km square prior to 1960) and the rising demand for more land as the population increases.

Background…. By 1990, the total land area of Singapore was 633km square. An increase of 51.5km square, which made up 8.9% the total land area. With continuing land reclamation, land area in Singapore will increase by about another 100km square by the year There are, however, constraints as to how much more land the country can reclaim.

Method of Land Reclamation The landfill mothod is used to reclaim land from the coast and the swamps in Singapore. It is also used in reclamation works involving the merging of islands. One such project is the amalgamation of Pulau Sakra and Pulau Bakau into one big island called Pulau Sakara, which is ten times the size of the two former islands. In the early years, the fill materials evacuated from the hills in Bedok, Siglap, Tampines and Jurong were used for filling the reclamation areas. In recent years, sea sand obtained from the seabed is the main source of fill materials for reclamation. The reclamation contractors import the sea sand from the neighbouring countries such as Indonesia.

Singapore Capri Islands.. What's in Store A luxury, 290-room, five-star hilltop hotel A three-star, 170-room, beachfront hotel 70 waterfront homes 1,700 units of housing 180 shops 50 restaurants

Limiting Factors… 1.Land reclamation works in the past used to be carried out from depths of 5-10m. Today, reclamation works have to venture into depper waters of 15m or so and this will incur much higher costs. 1.It is also not so viable to pursue pushing reclamation further offshore because there is the competing need to maintiain the sealanes and provide new and larger ports for the bigger ships to anchor in Singapore's limited sea space.

Overview of land reclamation in Singapore

Exercise 1:19 Difference / original x 100% = ( ) / x 1005 = 11.4%

Reclaimed areas in Singapore

Exercise 2:21 A - 2 B - 9 C - 8 D - 5 E - 6 F - 11 G - 10 H - 4 I - 1 J - 3 K Reclaimed area in K (marina City) is used for commercial, recreation and transport purposes.

Before reclamation Land reclamation through draining swamps.

After reclamation Land reclamation through draining swamps.

Resource File 2 Ex.3 Before 1960, Jurong was a huge swampland with some hills and rubber and coconut plantations on its edge. The physical landscape such as the hills have been levelled and the swampland reclaimed. Jurong River and the coastline have been straightened.

The human landscapes of rubber and coconut plantations and small scattered settlements have been cleared. The once rural agricultural landscape has been transformed into an industrial landscape. Heavy and marine industries are located near the sea whilst the lighter industries are located inland. There are more road links and residential area. Jurong Port is created near to the mouth of the Jurong River.

Resource File 4: 26, Activity 2 1. The East Coast Reclamation Scheme reclaimed a total of 1,525 ha of land from the sea. The total cost of the whole project was S$613 million. The reclaimed areas were used for housing, roads, parks, commercial and industrial uses and airport.

Resource File 4: 26, Activity 2 2. Enormous revenue (profits) would have been created from the sale of residential homes; electronic road pricing; air travel and airport services; commerce and industries. It is a worthwhile project.

Resource File 5: 27 Activity 3 2. A bigger piece of land would allow for better use of land than several separated islands. Reclamation costs would be lower too.

Resource File 6: 29 Activity 4. Benefits: –gained land area; –Changi Airport and to build houses, industries etc. Losses: –lost natural beaches, mangroves; –Marine life such as fishes and coral reefs have been lost.