Environmental Impact Analysis Of Luxury Housing Estate At Hastings Point Lot 156

Concerns of Australia’s Department of Environment and Energy

This is a report directed to Australia’s Department of Environment and Energy to investigate the concerns related to the concerns of installation of a new oceanside luxury housing estate at the Hasting’s Point Lot 156. The major concern is the destruction and clearing of the mangrove habitat existing in the area to make room for the new houses. Thus, the other concerns of Australia’s Department of Environment and Energy are the impact of the development on the Rocky shore ecosystems, beach, sand dune and the Mangrove Ecosystem.  

The rocky shore ecosystem- this ecosystem consists of the several zones and they are supra-littoral zones, littoral zones and these zones are the niches of several species. The studies carried in the rocky shore region led to the categorization of the three major zones: tidal zone, middle tidal zone, low tide zone (Bracken & Williams, 2013). According to the analysis, the 7 major species that have studied in this area are the Hermit crab, oysters, Nemta, snakeskin chitons, periwinkles, sand hoppers, lichen. These zones can get affected due to the construction work through the contaminated water, surface runoff and the waste materials getting dumped into this zone. The effect on the food chain and the food web cannot be seen at the micro level, however, there will be changes in the overall population of the communities living on the rocky shore. Pollution of the seawater (abiotic) is one of the biggest impacts that the construction project will have on the neighbouring areas of the rocky shore.

Sand dune and beach- This area is under constant pressure due to the stormy seas, strong winds and high temperature is constantly destroying and creating sand dunes. The area is vital because it acts as a buffer zone between the sea and the sand. This zone thus acts as a barrier preventing the salty water from entering the landmass and destroying the nearby habitat. Construction of a harbour is a must when the adjacent areas of beach have luxury estates. The construction of harbours leads to the decreased wave activity and alteration of the wave field. These alterations lead to erosion of the sandy beaches (Tsoukala et al., 2015). The plants that grow in the flotsam zone are beach bean, goat’s foot vine. These two species along with the spinifex and she-oak will be affected due to the seawater intrusion.

Mangrove community- these plants are the most specialised that are found only in the intertidal zones. Mangroves are capable of adapting to the differing types of saline water and during the high tide, these plants are completely covered with sea water. The most common mangrove species that are found in the Hasting’s point are Aegiceras corniculatum, Rhizophora stylosa, Avicenia marina (Lotfinasabasl, Gunale & Rajurkar, 2013). Due to the construction of the luxury estate, the mangrove communities will be removed and this will lead to the death of the fishes. The rationale is that about 80 percent of the fishes that commercially caught are all directly linked with the food chain that is dependent on the mangroves (Lee et al., 2014). There are also some bird species like mangrove warbler, mangrove kingfisher, mangrove honeyeater that are majorly confined to the mangrove habitats (Sandilyan & Kathiresan, 2012). The presence of the mangrove communities also helps in supplying proper levels of oxygen and nutrients to water and soil. The mangrove communities help in sustaining the other species like birds, insects, lizards, snakes, barnacles, oysters, crabs. Thus, destruction of the mangrove community will alter the food chain, food web and the population of the species inhabiting the region.

Table 1: Data from mangrove trekking

• The Hasting’s point lot 156 is a vital point which acts as a wildlife corridor and thus helps in sustaining a lot of endangered species that often visit and breed in the region. Such jabirus, breeding populations include the beach and bush stone curlews. However, the proposed construction of the luxury estate will eventually destroy the habitat (savehastingspoint.com, 2018).
• The place is situated beside a sea and that is why saltwater intrusion will be a common phenomenon. The existing localities and the proposed luxury estate will utilize large quantities of water from the groundwater aquifers which can lead to saltwater intrusion. Thus, construction of the saltmarsh zones can be a fine solution (savehastingspoint.com, 2018)
• The mangrove communities are the most vital part of this study and must be valued to a great degree. Literature and studies have shown that the mangrove communities act as a barrier to the storms that arise over the oceans. Mangroves act as a buffer zone protecting the adjacent landmass from the salt water intrusion, storms, sand and soil erosion and sustaining different forms of life and species. It is thus recommended that without destroying the mangrove communities, it is advised to keep them untouched. The mangroves that are within the area where sea water has stopped intruding can be removed. Beside the mangrove community, a small water body can be created to act as a buffer zone between the humans and the mangroves. Thus, it will help and serve two ends, both the species that depend on the mangroves for their food and shelter can be sustained and the natural ecosystem near the mangroves can also be preserved (Mukherjee et al., 2014).
• Without disturbing the mangrove forests, wooden bridges can be constructed which although will interfere with the mangrove ecosystem but with time will be able to return back to its original state. The wooden bridges can also be used as a harbour for the small boats.
• Construction works are a potential source of pollution and promoter of habitat destruction. It has been seen that a large number of pollution to be generated due to the several ill activities associated with construction. The first issue will be cutting down trees and clearing the land area to accommodate the building materials. Thus, from the construction work, a large number of rubbish, waste products, dust, and sound will generate which will affect and interfere with the natural environment. Thus, the major aim will be to continue the construction work with the minimum disturbance to the neighbouring areas (Ann et al., 2013).  
• Sand mining near the mangrove communities is seen during the field visits and this must to prevent to reduce the manmade impacts on the natural environment (Jonah et al., 2015).
• The human communities that are residing in the Hasting’s point must be prevented from littering into the sea beach and the adjacent mangrove areas. Littering of the waste products can actively interfere with the natural processes and can also potentially hamper the food chain of the smaller animals that reside near the water bodies.
• The rocky shore ecosystem is also a vital area when the construction of the luxury estate is considered. This area/zone can experience human interference in the form of contaminated water discharge, surface runoff and dumping of waste materials. Thus, such activities needed to be prevented at any cost.

References

Ann, T. W., Poon, C. S., Wong, A., Yip, R., & Jaillon, L. (2013). Impact of construction waste disposal charging scheme on work practices at construction sites in Hong Kong. Waste management, 33(1), 138-146.

Bracken, M. E., & Williams, S. L. (2013). Realistic changes in seaweed biodiversity affect multiple ecosystem functions on a rocky shore. Ecology, 94(9), 1944-1954.

Jonah, F. E., Agbo, N. W., Agbeti, W., Adjei-Boateng, D., & Shimba, M. J. (2015). The ecological effects of beach sand mining in Ghana using ghost crabs (Ocypode species) as biological indicators. Ocean & Coastal Management, 112, 18-24.

Lee, S. Y., Primavera, J. H., Dahdouh?Guebas, F., McKee, K., Bosire, J. O., Cannicci, S., … & Mendelssohn, I. (2014). Ecological role and services of tropical mangrove ecosystems: a reassessment. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23(7), 726-743.

Lotfinasabasl, S., Gunale, V. R., & Rajurkar, N. S. (2013). Petroleum hydrocarbons pollution in soil and its bioaccumulation in mangrove species, Avicennia marina from Alibaug mangrove ecosystem, Maharashtra, India. Int J Adv Res Tech, 2(2).

Mukherjee, N., Sutherland, W. J., Dicks, L., Hugé, J., Koedam, N., & Dahdouh-Guebas, F. (2014). Ecosystem service valuations of mangrove ecosystems to inform decision making and future valuation exercises. PloS one, 9(9), e107706.

Sandilyan, S., & Kathiresan, K. (2012). Mangrove conservation: a global perspective. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21(14), 3523-3542.

savehastingspoint.com. (2018). Lot 156 – Save Hastings Point!. Retrieved from https://savehastingspoint.com/lot-156/

Tsoukala, V. K., Katsardi, V., Ηadjibiros, K., & Moutzouris, C. I. (2015). Beach erosion and consequential impacts due to the presence of harbours in sandy beaches in Greece and Cyprus. Environmental Processes, 2(1), 55-71.

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