Land reclamation by the coast

Reclamation Land reclamation by the coast usually means that sea is landfilled to create more useful land area. High density population areas have a deficit of space. Coastal human settlements can exploit their position by reclaiming tidal and shallow sea areas through land reclamation. This can ease the pressure put on towns and cities, increase food production (if the new areas are used for agriculture), create new investment into a city (if the area is used to attract new businesses) and create new areas for urban development, easing housing shortages.

• In Japan, the new international airport in Tokyo Bay, entire business districts and several high-density residential districts are built on reclaimed land.
• Extensive tidal flat reclamation in Seoul, Korea (where 45% of Korea's population live) has made new areas for agriculture, homes, and industry as well. However in Seoul's case the lost habitat could have been more productive long term than the immediate benefits gleaned from the new land because the flats were a haven for wildlife and important defence against storms.

Loss of the habitat itself is an obvious environmental blow but sedimentation caused by landfill and the usual further development of any area leads to more waste and pollution and extra environmental problems. Sedimentation from landfills causes increased turbidity. Marine vegetation cannot survive without sunlight and if turbidity is high then they will die, as with coral reefs that need clear waters to survive. The fragile corals cover with sediment and are effectively choked to death.

At Tanjong Gul and Tanjong Teritip, in Singapore, the coral reefs have been directly destroyed by land reclamation and in the surrounding areas, indirectly, by sedimentation. In the early 1960's, visibility was 10 metres underwater, by the late 1990's underwater visibility was less than 2 metres on a clear day. Approximately 60% of Singapore's reefs have been destroyed by land reclamation. Measures such as sedimentation screens have been considered and many of Singapore's remaining corals are worth saving, however, even more land reclamation is planned for the future. . Land reclamation is usually at the price of the environment. With the population numbers and rates of growth highest in coastal areas more and more land reclamation shall occur.