Hi Ecogen!

My muted presence in this site can be explained by the number of causes I have been involved with. Last week, our university's heritage Brebeuf Gym burned down and we were involved with assisting rebuilding efforts. 

Land reclamation is not a new topic of concern, of course. Urban developers in Manila have long reclaimed portions of Manila Bay to support residential and commercial buildings in order to accommodate 16 million people in what is arguably the world's densest metropolis. Dubai, in the UAE, houses the well known Palm Jumeirah islands, while the Maldives, Kiribati and other island nations have reclamation and sea wall building projects to halt the rapid onset of coastal erosion brought about by climate change. However, a recent documentary in the Spratly Islands (Nansha in Chinese) reveal that beneath the massive land reclamation and dredging activities conducted by the country's navy, a massive graveyard of coral can be seen. Now, this is not meant to foment any tension. The Spratlys is in the limelight currently and i just want to exploit the fact that reclaiming land to form islands may be beneficial to humans, but poses a lot of deleterious effects to marine life. The Spratlys is located in the Coral Triangle, where most of the world's coral species are located. Recent stresses such as bleaching resulting from the El Nino phenomenon have already exacted damage to these fragile ecosystems. Coral reefs remain as the primary shelter for many keystone marine species, and its destruction for material gains (either in the aquarium trade or for ornamentation) , and/or economic gains ( constructing oil rigs, artificial islands) constitutes a flagrant violation of international law under UNCLOS. 

In order to safeguard our marine diversity, we need to be proactive in educating people of the dangers associated with land reclamation, microplastic usage, dynamite fishing etc. that can exact a toll in our already endangered marine ecosystems. As the future of our Earth, we should look into sustainable alternatives. One promising alternative can be seen in South America's Lake Titicaca , where indigenous Uru people in Peru make use of locally available plants to form islands that are low-risk, stable and easy to make. The challenge lies in finding a saltwater alternative, one that is viable for long-term usage. It is our fervent hope that reclaiming activities can be substituted meanwhile with effective housing and urban planning policies.