IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. According to the
United Nations Environment Programmer (UNEP), biodiversity typically measures variation at
the genetic, species, and ecosystem level. Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be greater near the
equator, which seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary productivity.

The number of households in countries with biodiversity hotspot is increasing at a faster rate
than in area less important for conservation, according to a new study. More households lead to a
higher demand for natural resources, even if the population stays the same this turn exacerbates
the threat to plants and animals particularly in those areas of the world where many native
species are at risk from human activity. The study published in week’s Nature, examines the size
and number of households in 141 countries. The findings show that the growth in the number of
households in 76 countries with biodiversity hotspot including Australia, Brazil, India and the
United States was much higher than in non hotspot countries.

“Increase in household numbers, often manifested as urban sprawl, and resultant higher per
capita resource consumption in smaller households pose serious challenges to biodiversity
conservation.”

Land-use alteration, such as the clearing of old-growth forest for agricultural development,
logging, or urban development. This is most-likely the biggest threat to biodiversity.
 AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution is defined as any contamination of the whole atmosphere and it disturbs the natural
composition and the chemistry of the air. Air pollution comes from a wide variety of sources.
Some of the most excessive sources do include:

 Vehicle or manufacturing exhaust

 Forest fires, volcanic eruptions, dry soil erosion, and other natural sources
 Building construction or demolition
Building construction causes as a result dust particles emanating from excavation and
construction activities. Exhausts from the involved machinery will lead to increased level of
noxious gases such as sulphur, carbon, and nitrogen oxides and this could impact on public
health, particularly in the direct impact zone. Also during construction exhaust emission from
machinery and controlled burning of residues from clearances, exotics control and scrub
management etc. could cause lots of smoke and smoke is of concern when it drifts across roads
reducing driver visibility or paths and rides affecting recreational users especially as the
construction would be carried out close to the highway.
WATER POLLUTION
Some water quality issues related to urban development includes population growth, erosion and
sedimentation, urban runoff, nitrogen, phosphorous, sewage overflows, pesticides and building
construction and demolishing etc.

Construction and clearing land often put sediment in rivers and bodies of water. Filling in
wetlands takes away natural water filters that can break down many pollutants before they reach
other water bodies. Oil, debris, paint and other harmful chemicals also can runoff with water and
sediment from construction sites.
Soil and sediment smothers and kills aquatic life. It also absorbs and carries with it other toxins
that reduce water quality. Oil, grease, degreasers and other chemicals soak into the ground and
contaminate drinking water, causing health problems. Those toxins as well as paint and other
hazardous materials can harm and kill fish and land animals drinking the water.

Polluted water cause Infectious diseases. Some of these water-borne diseases are Typhoid,
Cholera, Paratyphoid Fever, Dysentery, Jaundice, Amoebiasis and Malaria. Chemicals in the
water also have negative effects on our health.

Pesticides: can damage the nervous system and cause cancer because of the carbonates and
organophosphates that they contain. Chlorides can cause reproductive and endocrinal damage.

Nitrates: are especially dangerous to babies that drink formula milk. It restricts the amount of
oxygen in the brain and cause the “blue baby” syndrome.
Lead: can accumulate in the body and damage the central nervous system.

SOLUTIONS
1- Biodiversity Solution
 Enhance:

The overall ecological quality, extent, capacity, structure and functioning of the site and the
surrounding ecological network by creating new habitats, buffer areas and landscape features
that are of importance for wildlife. Such effort should particularly be concentrated:
• In areas where the most important, fragile and/or threatened habitats and species are known to
occur
• Where there are species requiring large ranges and/or those with limited powers of dispersal,
which have particularly suffered as a result of habitat patches becoming reduced in size and
isolated within intensively managed modern and often inhospitable landscapes
• On species with low reproductive capacity (e.g., most large mammals) or species highly
sensitive to disturbance (e.g., most birds of prey), and species subject to recovery programmers.

 Avoid:

Developing sites, and locations within sites, where existing key habitats, important species,
buffer areas and other landscape features of major importance for wildlife would:
• Suffer direct impact resulting in the reduction or complete loss of habitat present, the
abundance, distribution and/or diversity of species present
• Suffer an indirect impact from nearby development through increased ecological disturbance
and stress, thereby reducing the site’s capacity to support the wildlife present
• Suffer a reduction in ecological quality so that the site is no longer able to support the
migration, dispersal or genetic exchange of wild species

 Restore:

Retain and Incorporate within the development site layout existing habitats, important species,
buffer areas and landscape features of major importance for wildlife making sure that the site
retains at least the same capacity to support the diversity, abundance, migration, dispersal and
genetic exchange of wildlife as it did prior to development.

 Compensate:

For features lost to development through the:

• Re-creation as nearby as possible of features and landforms capable of maintaining the same
ecological functions and with the same capacity to support at least the same ecological functions
and with the same capacity to support at least the same quantity and quality of habitats and
species as would otherwise be lost or displaced through development
• Restoration and enhancement of surrounding/nearby features unaffected by development
• Creation of new or additional buffer areas to reduce impacts
• Translocation, where possible, of habitats and species that would otherwise be lost

 Manage:

Existing, restored, newly created or translocated habitats and landscape features of major
importance for wildlife.

 Monitor:

Existing, restored, enhanced, and newly created or translocated habitats and landscape features
of major importance for wildlife to ensure that they are unaffected by the new development and
continue to support wild fauna and flora.
2- SOLUTIONS TO CONTROL AIR POLLUTION
The Air Pollution Control Ordinance (APCO) is the main legislative framework governing the
control of air pollution activities. Under the APCO air pollution emissions from construction
activities are subject to control under five regulations:

 Construction Dust Regulation

 Specified Processes Regulation
 Smoke Regulation
 Fuel Restriction Regulation
 Open burning Regulation
Dust generated by various construction site activities can make a significant contribution to local
air pollution. High levels of dust, combined with other outdoor air pollutants can cause
respiratory problems. Dust also reduce visibility, dirties clothing and buildings, and increase the
rate of corrosion. All these effects decrease the quality of life and cost money. Good site
practices are the major mitigation measures for prevention or minimization of air pollution from
construction activities. Practical guidance on the control of air pollution during construction is
available from the Environmental protection department. Measures include:

 Effective water sprays to be used to water exposed working areas that can generate dust
 Fine particle materials on site to be enclosed and covered
 Wheel washing facilities shall be installed and used by all vehicles leaving the site
 At the end of the works, all bare surface to be hydro seeded as soon as possible

3- SOLUTIONS TO CONTROL WATER POLLUTION

Sediment from construction sites is managed by installation of:

 Erosion controls, such as mulching and hydro seeding

 Sediment controls, such as sediment basins and silt fences

Discharge of toxic chemicals such as motor fuels and concrete washout is prevented by use of:

 Spill prevention and control plans, and

 Specially designed containers (e.g. for concrete washout) and structures such as overflow
controls and diversion berms