I INTRODUCTION

One of the most common problems of our society that is hardly solved and given

attention to is Land Pollution People often see this problem as very simple and

unimportant but an increasing ignorance to this dilemma seems to weaken not just the

human race but also causes animal extinction as well Land fields are now converted

into industrial and housing settings some are used for mining quarrying and for

agricultural uses however even lands for agricultural use are now exploited by farmers

through excessive inputs of chemical fertilizers In mining industries miners use

explosive materials to blow up mines that destroy the natural formation of the land

Lands that are converted for Industrial settings are devastated by Manufacturing

companies that emit toxic chemicals and wastes that decrease the fertility of the soil

surrounding them Even lands use for housing projects widely affects the quality of the

soil due to the improper wastes disposal of garbage

Land Pollution was the interest of the researchers because it is less prioritized by

the government as well as the citizens of this country The issue regarding land pollution

was set aside as part of urbanization and industrialization and its danger was ignored by

many causing many deprivation and catastrophes among wild life and human

Every living organism within the land proper is affected of this arising problem If

it wasnrsquot given attention to it can cause life risk not just to human but also to wildlife

Humanrsquos staple foods majority come from land land pollution widely affect the quality

and the safetiness of these foods Furthermore pollutants observed within the marine

life are mostly drifted from lands and aerosol pollutants as well are mostly caused by

burning solid materials that are classified as land pollutants also

According to James Tulloch of Allianz website forests were once covered half of

the Earthrsquos landmass but now they cover less than one tenth The UN has declared 2011

the International Year of Forests to better protect the planetrsquos lungs 130000 square

kilometers of the worlds forests every year was being destroy by men according to the

UNrsquos Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) These areas were converted to

agricultural land for timber production and urbanization Furthermore Tulloch stated

that ldquoMore frequent fires and outbreaks of pests and diseases are turning some forests

from carbon sinks into sources of carbon emissions Deforestation now accounts for

around 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissionsrdquo UN stresses to spend 2011 in

conserving forest for the future generation and not just for short-term income of

countries Experts at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and

the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) believe that giving the

responsibility for forest conservation to the hands of local people is the best hope for the

survival of forest from degradation Major causes of deforestation that is often source of

land pollution are infrastructure development agricultural development industrial

development and human settlement that are usually initiated and facilitated by the

government of each locality for the belief that these will increase the countryrsquos income

and wealth as well However the United Nations already have a its own way of

contributing to the conservation of Forest land to lessen the chance of Land pollution

and degradation rich nations will pay for the protection of virgin forests in less fortunate

countries(httpknowledgeallianzcomclimate915agenda-2011-the-year-of-

forests[Online]) ldquoSoil scientists have called for more targeted research and strict

guidelines to stop what they say is the massive degradation of land and soil around the

world which is contributing to climate change and threatening food security There is a

According to James Tulloch of Allianz website forests were once covered half of

the Earthrsquos landmass but now they cover less than one tenth The UN has declared 2011

the International Year of Forests to better protect the planetrsquos lungs 130000 square

kilometers of the worlds forests every year was being destroy by men according to the

UNrsquos Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) These areas were converted to

agricultural land for timber production and urbanization Furthermore Tulloch stated

that ldquoMore frequent fires and outbreaks of pests and diseases are turning some forests

from carbon sinks into sources of carbon emissions Deforestation now accounts for

around 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissionsrdquo UN stresses to spend 2011 in

conserving forest for the future generation and not just for short-term income of

countries Experts at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and

the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) believe that giving the

responsibility for forest conservation to the hands of local people is the best hope for the

survival of forest from degradation Major causes of deforestation that is often source of

land pollution are infrastructure development agricultural development industrial

development and human settlement that are usually initiated and facilitated by the

government of each locality for the belief that these will increase the countryrsquos income

and wealth as well However the United Nations already have a its own way of

contributing to the conservation of Forest land to lessen the chance of Land pollution

and degradation rich nations will pay for the protection of virgin forests in less fortunate

countries(httpknowledgeallianzcomclimate915agenda-2011-the-year-of-

forests[Online]) ldquoSoil scientists have called for more targeted research and strict

guidelines to stop what they say is the massive degradation of land and soil around the

world which is contributing to climate change and threatening food security There is a

strong link between soil and land degradation and climate changerdquo according to Zafar

Adeel director of the UN Universitys International Network on Water Environment and

Health He also stated that without the cover of vegetation land becomes more

reflective heating up the air above it and potentially contributing to global warming It

also loses fertility and the capacity to support vegetation and agricultural crops Boshra

Salem from the Department of Environmental Sciences at Egypts University of

Alexandria stated that degradation of soil and land in already marginally productive land

is a significant issue for many developing countries particularly in northern Africa the

Sahara region and also Asia including China(httpwwwscidevnetennewssoil-

degradation-issues-swept-aside-say-expertshtml[Online])

The Asian economy has been growing fast in recent decades and environmental

hazards are also increasing One of the most alarming is the increasing contamination of

heavy metals in soils due to rapid industrialization urbanization and intensive agriculture

in the region Soil which is the landscape for the ecosystem and the basic resource for

food production is now threatened by soil pollution or what we call lsquoland pollutionrsquo

which has been growing along with the industrial expansion and ahead of people in

many fields in Asian countries In present times it is significantly aggravating the quality

of soils and crops as the concentration of pollutants continue to increase As a result

this caused risks to human health and the deterioratation of environmental qualityThis

however may well be just the tip of the iceberg with developing countries very likely to

be the next generation of new soil contamination cases Because of the alarming result

of this problem FFTC collaborated with the East and Southeast Asian Federation of Soil

Sciences (ESAFS) attended in the conduct of the 8th ESAFS Conference held in

Tsukuba Japan in October 2007 About 300 soil scientists in east and southeast Asian

countries attended the conference where FFTC sponsored a special session to bring

into the mainstream recent trends and issues on New Solutions to Soil Pollution and

Distribution Bioavailability and Management of Heavy Metals According to their

exchange of factsrdquo in Taiwan more than 90 percent of potential contaminated areas of

rural soils are produced by wastewater The governments biggest challenge was the Cd

pollution in brown rice in 1988 More than 300 ha of rural soils in central Taiwan were

also found to be contaminated by multiple elements (Cu Cr Ni Pb and Zn) discharged

from wastewater of illegal plants in the area In Japan a soil survey of heavy metals by

its environment agency yielded Cu Zn Cd Pb Cr Mn Ni and As in arable land and

forest soil in 1978-1982 Soil samples were collected from 687 sites and the results

obtained from this survey were used to determine the natural abundance level of heavy

metals in cultivated soils in the country In Korea an extensive monitoring project of

heavy metals distribution in soils and crops was conducted in the last few years

revealing concentrations of Cd Cu Pb and Zn in paddy soils mostly below the threshold

levels of arable land pollution but without an evident anthropogenic source of

contaminantsrdquo(httpwwwagnetorglibrarync159d[Online])In eastern Asia a complete

database of soil-crop inventory of heavy metals have been developed in the last two

decades From national monitoring and study programs the relationships between

heavy metals concentration in rice and other crops as well as heavy metals

concentration in soils to evaluate food safety have been established There is an

increase on unnsafe rice and poisoned vegetables Via the food chain harmful

substances from the soils find their way into the crops and into humans where they can

cause a variety of illnesses Hence soil pollution is now receiving the kind of attention

once only accorded to air and water pollution Rice is the staple food in most Asian

countries but many paddy soils are now contaminated by illegal discharges of waste

water from local factories Results from field studies in Taiwan showed that rice variety

and soil Cd concentration are major factors affecting edible rice safety with the Indica

type rice absorbing significantly more Cd from contaminated soil than Japonica type In

Korea previous studies have shown that metal contents in rice grown nearby

abandoned mines are higher than those in unpolluted areas(

httpwwwagnetorglibrarync159d[Online])

According to the observation of soil scientist heavy metals from mining activities

are known to be the major contributors to accumulated metals in crops in the country In

China an estimated 12 million tons of grain are contaminated by heavy metals every

year causing direct losses of 20 billion yuan (US$257 billion) Among all the metals the

following elements has an intriguing hazardous effect on the health of men arsenic(As)

cadmium (Cd) mercury (Hg) lead (Pb) and selenium (Se) The propensity for plants to

accumulate and translocate these contaminants to edible and harvested parts depends

largely on soil and climatic factors plant genotype and agronomic management

Excessive intake of Cd can cause mpairment of kidney function being the main adverse

effect ( httpwwwagnetorglibrarync159d[Online])

ldquo In a review paper on the problem of soil degradation in the

Philippines published in the Annals of Tropical Research vol 31 we

(Asio et al) revealed that soil erosion is the most widespread process of

soil degradation and is also the most studied in the countryrdquo(

httpsoil-environmentblogspotcom201003soil-degradation-in-

philippineshtml[Online]) There are more alarming issues on land

pollution in the Philippines that are not just residing on its agricultural

lands but as well as on Urban areas where garbage disposal is one of

the most noticeable problem of lands particularly in National Capital of

the Philippines(NCR)

In the state of urban ecosystems area of Batangas studies revealed that tree

cover in urban areas falls short with the desirable condition Despite the cityrsquos active

support on agriculture the Department of Interior and Local Governmentrsquos Local

Governance Performance Management System assessment stated that the

percentage of irrigated land to total irrigable land is too low while agricultural land

development is not of priority and the potential to increase agricultural produce is

very weak while crop production indicates very low agricultural land productivity

According to Batangas city administrator Philip Baroja who used to be the

cityrsquos environment and natural resources officer the city is classified as

industrial which means the LGPMS would have reclassify it as soon as the

cityrsquos investment plan comes

out(httpsouthernluzoninquirerblogspotcom201007batangas-city-fails-

in-environmenthtml[Online])

A Statement of the Objectives

1 To measure the level of awareness of people specifically college

students about the arising issue of land exploitation and degredation

2 To integrate a strategic plan on imparting knowledge to people about Land

Pollutionrsquos Causes and Effects

3 To provide useful information to people about the pros and cons of

conversion of lands into industrial agricultural and household setting

B Significance of the Research

For the respondents (College Students)

This research will provide the respondents information about the alarming

effects of Land Pollution and its health and safety effects to them

For the future chosen Community

This research will provide a strategic plan on how to dispense information

to larger groups of people and provide them idea on the arising problem and to

teach them how to avoid or to lessen the problem

For the future researcher

This research will provide them the first step in helping our government on

the improvement of our community and ecosystem