ems assigment 2

7/31/2019 EMS Assigment 2

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(VBB 4223) Environmental Management System

Assignment 2

Aduot Madit Anhiem 12926

Civil Engineering


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Coastal Erosion

Coastal erosion is a gradual disintegration and washing away of beaches,including the san, soil and natural habitats that have formed along theedges of beaches. Coastal erosion changes the nature of the surrounding

surf and tides, possibly making the area dangerous for boats and requiringconstantly updated maps.

The cause of coastal erosion is the movement of waves and tides which canaffect river deltas, beaches and coastlines with soft sediments. Rain andOcean erode the coastline, and the effects usually occur if the earth hasbeen weakened in some ways. More so the global warming affects icebergs,therefore the melting leads to rise of water levels.

Coastal Erosion damages wastewater collection systems, contaminatesdrinking water supplies, and it interferes with public power supplies, hence

there are heavy losses of properties. High levels of water cause coastalhomes to flood or slide into the water, industrial and commercial facilitiesthat are in low-lying areas are impaired or shut down, and beachessubmerged, therefore permanent changes in topography are exhibited.

Coastal Erosion can be prevented by constructing groins and jetties to trapthe sand and extend channels so sediment is carried farther from coastrespectively. Building sand dunes and growing vegetation around them, aswell provision of artificial beach nourishment can control the coastalerosion.

Wetlands Destruction

According to EPA 1995 Wetlands are defined as lands where saturation withwater is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil developmentand the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on itssurface. From that we can simply say that wetland destruction involveconversion of wetlands to open water either by expansion or existing waterbodies or creation of new water bodies.

The main causes of wetland destruction are dredging, construction, the

creation of levees and dikes as well as chemical contamination of thewetlands. Also the introduction of non-native species to the ecosystem andgrazing by domestic animals are some particular causes of wetlanddestruction. The natural causes can be erosion, sea level rise and droughtswhich are beyond human control.

The effects of wetland destruction are dire to wildlife in that it is a loss ofhabitat, and their survival is jeopardized. Some are total displaced andsome can extinct. For people flooding is on frequent basis thereforedestruction of human properties, and also there is problem of subsistenceof the land in and around the wetland.


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The preventive and control measures is to control water regime to slowconversion to open water, hence maintaining the status quo. Provision ofnew channels, to divert navigation from areas; where the maintenance ofnavigation channels is detrimental to wetland developments. Introductionof sluice gates, and other control structures; across the levees, to divert

water, during high stands in wetlands.

Deforestation

Deforestation is a practice of cutting down trees to an extent that the globalclimate slowly undergoes changes.

Deforestation is caused by the destruction of the forests which is due to theshort term of economic reasons, governments corruption to have wealthand power by harvesting the riches of the forest. Population growth andurbanization are causes of the deforestation, in that there will be urbanconstruction, and this set people to cut down trees to be used or buildingmaterials, furniture and more clearing the forest for expansion of theaccommodating urban areas results to a massive deforestation. Thepopulation increase demands more agricultural practices such that cropsare grown and this put forth the cutting down of forests. The other causesare; needs to use trees for fuel especially the countries where there is needof firewood and charcoal which are used for cooking and heating purposes.Commercial purposes are another cause of deforestation for instance theclearing of forests for oil and mining exploration the forests are cleared and

lastly the forest fires which do occur naturally clears huge forest hencethere is loss of forests and habitats for the wildlife.

The effects of deforestation which are both economical and environmentalare soil erosion which is due to exposure of the soil to the sun making itinfertile due to volatile nutrients lost. Disruption of water cycle becausetrees maintain the water cycle through absorption, evaporation andtranspiration. Loss of Biodiversity where some of the animals get extinct,and more so the flooding and drought since the flow of water is altered anddisrupted hence possible alternate periods of flood and drought aremanifested. Lastly there is climatic change such as global warming which is

largely caused by emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Regarding deforestation solutions, the practical implementation ofpurported strategies requires collective effort of all responsible citizens. Alegislation concerning cutting of trees, forest management, reforestation,commercial growing of forest and so on must be enacted. Illegal logging,infrastructure development and mining should be kept under control.


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ems assigment 2

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