When the most populated country on Earth continues to rapidly grow, what does one do?
China, being no stranger to ambitious building projects, has taken to literally moving mountains in order to create more land.
The idea is simple: Lop off the tops of the mountains and use the material to fill in the valleys below to create a flat, livable area of land.
Science and environment journal Nature has reported that tens of square miles of flat land has been created in the cities of Chongqing, Shiyan, Yichang, Lanzhou and Yan’an, with the latter looking to double its current area through flattening mountains.
As well as a place for the population to spill onto, it’s expected the new land will generate billions of renminbi (local currency) through sales and leasing, while also providing more space for agriculture.
But all is not as simple as it sounds.
According to the article, engineers have gone steaming into the project without thinking or studying up first.
“The consequences of these unprecedented programs have not been thought through — environmentally, technically or economically. There has been too little modelling of the costs and benefits of land creation.”
The whole process is proving an environmental and engineering disaster. This looming calamity points to a severe lack of research and expertise combined with a desperate rush to create more land while turning a blind eye to the implications.
In Yan’an, for instance, the mountaintops consist of thick, million-year-old deposits of windblown silt. This was found out as research was carried out three months after construction began. Nature says that “such soft soils can subside when wet, causing structural collapse,” something that could cause significant costs further down the track, or even pose a risk to safety.
The consequences of these unprecedented programs have not been thought through.
Work here has also seen the air turn brown with dust as a result of workers working on windy days without dampening the soil first as they should.
In the city of Shiyan, changing hills to plains has caused landslides and flooding. The initiative diverted water from rivers into canals but ended up causing greater soil erosion and depositing sediment in local water sources.
“Land-creation projects are already causing air and water pollution, soil erosion and geological hazards such as subsidence. They destroy forests and farmlands and endanger wild animals and plants,” Nature explains.
“Many land-creation projects in China ignore environmental regulations, because local governments tend to prioritize making money over protecting nature.”
But there’s no evidence that mountain flattening will even be a lucrative move. The estimated $16 billion cost over the 10-year project could take decades to recoup, if at all. The soft infill soil will require at least a decade to stabilize before building work can take place. By then, investors could have lost patience or be put off altogether.
So China is learning that moving mountains really is as difficult as it sounds. To fix the situation, the article suggests not only allocating funds for research by geologists and hydrogeologists but also collaborating with international bodies that have the right expertise in order to get the job done properly. It also mentions that governments should work with economists to see if a project is financially worthwhile before breaking ground.
Worryingly, construction work continues. While it might seem a bit of a no-brainer, a set of guidelines should be put in place before scything off the tops of mountains to make way for more mega-cities. But convincing determined local governments to adopt this could be an even harder task.
This article originally appeared on News.com.au.