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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 wasnt given attention to, it can cause life risk not just to human but also to wildlife. Humans 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 Earths landmass but now they cover less than one tenth. The UN has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests to better protect the planets lungs. 130,000 square kilometers of the world's forests every year was being destroy by men, according to the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These areas were converted to agricultural land, for timber production, and urbanization. Furthermore Tulloch stated that More 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 emissions. 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 countrys 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(http://knowledge.allianz.com/climate/?915/agenda-2011-the-year-offorests[Online]). Soil 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 change according to Zafar Adeel, director of the UN University's 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 Egypt's 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(http://www.scidev.net/en/news/soildegradation-issues-swept-aside-say-experts.html[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 land pollution 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 quality.This 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 facts, in Taiwan, more than 90 percent of potential contaminated areas of rural soils are produced by wastewater. The government's 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 contaminants(http://www.agnet.org/library/nc/159d/[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(

http://www.agnet.org/library/nc/159d/[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$2.57 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 ( http://www.agnet.org/library/nc/159d/[Online]). 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 country( http://soil-

environment.blogspot.com/2010/03/soil-degradation-inphilippines.html[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 citys active support on agriculture, the Department of Interior and Local Governments 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 citys environment and natural resources officer, the city is classified as industrial, which means the LGPMS would have reclassify it as soon as the citys investment plan comes

out(http://southernluzoninquirer.blogspot.com/2010/07/batangas-city-failsin-environment.html[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 Pollutions 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.

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