Essay Sample on New Zealand Soil Erosion: 190 Million Tonnes Lost Annually

Introduction

The widespread issue affecting New Zealand is soil erosion. The heavy rainfall draws away large amounts of the soil that leaves the place bare. The ground eroded is usually around 192 million tonnes per year (NZ losing 190m tonnes of soil, 2019). The silt collects in the rivers as well as earth dams. The rivers, therefore, end up losing their course due to the soil deposits that levels it with its banks. The flood, thus, occurs at the lower parts of the river sweeping away all the trees and structure around the area. Generally, the ministry of the environment faces a significant challenge in controlling soil erosion.

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Soil fertility is always carried away in erosion, thus reducing the productivity of the land. About 44% of the soil is lost. Environmental degradation and attraction are lost. Trees and animal habitats are destroyed since there is no life support under such environments. In the process to regain or reconstruct the environment, the Government has used funds in researching to control the erosion (NZ losing 190m tonnes of soil, 2019). However, the demise seems to be a catastrophe that is nearly out of control. Besides that, the Government has come up with strategies to slow down erosion in place. The program initiative to regulate the high level of erosion includes activities such as planting more trees, construction of gabions as well as fencing the erosion-prone areas. The measures only reduce the risks as well as the damages that might be caused as a result of soil erosion (McDowell, Hedley, Pletnyakov, Rissmann, Catto & Patrick, 2019).

Soil erosion has also affected business activities as well as agricultural activities. Besides, it has also affected settlements as well as infrastructure. The business has found it challenging to transact, especially whereby roads and other communication network infrastructures are affected by rampant erosion. The strong winds and rains that cause erosion sometimes lead to depletion of the fertile soil that is essential for cultivation or instead farming (McDowell, Hedley, Pletnyakov, Rissmann, Catto & Patrick, 2019). The deterioration in agricultural production, therefore, leads to a decrease in the gross domestic product of New Zealand. It implies the income per head consequently is reduced; thus, the Government strains hard to sustain its economy. Although the Government has strived hard to minimize soil erosion, it is evidence that the soils once eroded can never be retrieved back.

Soil erosion has also affected the community in one way or another. The communities' valuable scenes sometimes end up vanishing in the erosion process. It has also lead to the loss of properties such as buildings as well as farms. The extensive erosion of the soil has also stopped some the community activities such as pastoralism and vast land tilling. The corrosion, therefore, has reduced the engagement of the society in their cultural practices to prevent losses and damages (NZ losing 190m tonnes of soil, 2019).

Erosion has also lead to contamination of water sources as most of the soils eroded may be exposed to chemical fertilizers as well as other intoxicating inorganic substances. The erosion of such chemicals has led to mysterious diseases that sometimes ends up killing both living animals and plants (NZ losing 190m tonnes of soil, 2019).

Conclusion

Soil erosion is an issue that has adversely affected the New Zealand activities, and therefore, there is a need to find out a long-lasting solution to it. Despite the government effort to control erosion, the area still experiences its impact. It would be advisable that the Government would educate its citizens on means and strategies to control erosion. The education, therefore, would assist the state to have a composite measure over erosion.

References

NZ losing 190m tonnes of soil. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/indepth/commercial/tvic-new-zealand-soil-is-being-lost/

McDowell, R. W., Hedley, M. J., Pletnyakov, P., Rissmann, C., Catto, W., & Patrick, W. (2019). Why are median phosphorus concentrations improving in New Zealand streams and rivers? Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 49(2), 143-170. https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2019.1576213