LAND is an important resource. We need land to grow food. We need land for housing. We need land to build cities. But, imagine if there is no more suitable land left.
With the world population fast approaching the nine billion mark, the world realises that we will be running short of suitable arable land. It is in response to such concerns that city planners are thinking of new ways to build cities.
Agriculturists are toying with new approaches to grow food. Some have even resorted to growing fruits and vegetables in high-rise concrete structures.
Such urban agriculture has already sprouted in countries like Japan and South Korea. The limited availability of land there has reached acute levels.
Architects, on the other hand, are hatching new techniques to build comfortable housing on a smaller land area. Some use the climate change arguments to persuade planners to be more mindful of the land use issue. Deforestation, for example, is a big no-no.
But, lately, climate change has taken a new twist. United States President Donald Trump called it a big hoax. It has exerted untold economic pains on the fossil fuel industry there, especially coal. But, ever since that pronouncement of fake news, many have begun to have doubts. If the climate change theory is true, why is there such a divide among scientists? And both sides boast of highly-reputable scientific minds.
Many are beginning to ask whether the climate change issue is an excuse to pursue other agendas. Agendas that can derail free trade between countries and create bad blood between nations. Here, in Malaysia, we recently had a taste of this in the form of the proposed European Union ban on palm oil, purportedly under the guise of protecting the forests.
Some say climate change is being used as a front to bring to world attention other bigger concerns. Admittedly, promoting the climate change idea has been effective in persuading the world to take notice, despite the sceptics. Even politicians, except Trump, have been persuaded.
And why not? Climate change, together with the claims of rising sea levels, extreme weather and threats to world food, can be truly devastating for the world. It has become an effective instrument to scare the world into taking action. So, what are the bigger concerns?
A recent analysis suggests that the bigger concerns for humanity are the depleting critical resources and the growing inequality among people. The world population will soon reach a staggering nine billion by 2050. This will create bigger demand on the world’s limited resources. Even at the current seven billion odd people, we are already feeling the pain of declining resources.
Apart from energy and water, one resource, which has stirred a lot of debate, is land. Especially agricultural land to grow food to feed the world. There is concern that the available land area is fast decreasing.
The overexploitation of some areas has also led to desertification, further exacerbating the situation. Add that to the fact that a lot of land has been allocated to urban development, one can understand the growing concern.
This is why scientists have been researching new technologies to increase the yields of food crops. The world must salute their work, which has led to the development of such technologies as genetic engineering and other breeding techniques. Many food crops have witnessed increase in yields.
Talking about high-yielding food crops, the oil palm must surely stand out. It is after all, by nature, a high-yielding oil crop. The oil palm requires much less land to provide the same amount of edible oil for the world. Therefore, instead of persecuting the oil palm under the guise of climate change, the world must instead pay tribute to this wonder crop. It is clear that, while the jury on climate change is still out there, the issue of depleting resources, especially land, is real and indisputable. It’s high time we got our priorities right.
Dr Ahmad Ibrahim is a fellow at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia