Sand Mining Throughout Coastal Liberia

The city of Buchanan, Liberia, is gradually being swept away by sea erosion. But there is an even more serious matter – an impending environmental danger- that should claim the urgent attention of the government. It is the issue of sand mining in Monrovia and its environs.

Sand mining ravages African beaches

Sand is a natural resource that is more and more exploited. Worldwide, beaches are mined for sand. As many other countries in the world, African States have legislated to better protect their coastal environment, but this did not put an end to illegal beach sand mining and its detrimental effects on the ecosystems.

Sand mining decimates African beaches

What do houses, streets, telephones and microchips have in common? They all contain processed sand. Now African countries are raising the alarm because of their disappearing beaches…

Liberia’s Poor and the Rising Sea

A report on the threat to the environment in Liberia released by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) states that erosion in this West African country is causing the shoreline to recede in some cities, including Buchanan, Greenville, Harper and Robertsport, and that beach sand mining is also said to be the main contributing factor.

Sand Thieves Are Eroding World’s Beaches For Castles Of Cash

The pillaging of sand is a growing practice in the world. Taken by hand, three or four meters deep in the Maldives archipelago, or transported on a donkey, or sucked up by huge sand boats in Asia, coastal sand mining, authorized or unlawful, is exploding.