The Kurnell sand dune system is estimated to be about 15,000 years old, and sand mining on the Kurnell peninsula has depleted the area of much of the sand that was originally there. A former mining site, is now considered for housing up to 2000 homes.. a disaster in waiting environmentalists said.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday said the government had no choice but to wage “serious war” against illegal sand miners in the state.

The Barbuda Council has voted to end beach sand mining, bowing to pressure from within its ranks and environmentalists, after several reports indicated that the operation posed serious health and safety risks.

Cambodia has struggled with the environmental cost of sand mining from its rivers, and villagers who live along the banks of the Mekong River say that the land on which their houses are built is collapsing into the river because of the dredging.

Unchecked and illegal sand dredging have been attributed to severe landslide that washed away houses into the Dong Nai River, in the South Central Coastal region of Vietnam.