The Economist explains: Why there is a shortage of sand
It may be plentiful, but so is the demand for it.
He who controls the sand: the mining ‘mafias’ killing each other to build cities
In Kenya, as in most of the developing world, cities are growing at a frenzied pace. Creating buildings to house all the people and the roads to knit them together requires prodigious quantities of sand. As the price of sand goes up, the ‘mafias’ get more involved.
Sand mining: the global environmental crisis you’ve probably never heard of
From Cambodia to California, industrial-scale sand mining is causing wildlife to die, local trade to wither and bridges to collapse. And booming urbanisation means the demand for this increasingly valuable resource is unlikely to let up.
The Market For African Beach Sand: Who’s Buying, Selling And Mining It?
Sand mining on beaches and in riverbeds is a source of income for unemployed Africans, but it’s often an unregulated — or under-regulated — business. Environmental impact is a growing concern.
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…
Why are beaches disappearing in Morocco?
Desirable coastal areas are being stripped of their beachfronts by the construction need for sand…
Activist’s action against illegal sand mining near Kihim beach, India
Activist Sumaira Abdulali, who has been threatened and attacked several times for raising the issue of sand mining, continues to raise awareness on the subject, to the local authorities.
Crimeans told to stop stealing sand from beaches
Officials in Crimea are warning people to stop stealing sand from tourist beaches, or else face a prison sentence. The peninsula’s beaches are being targeted by people who remove the sand for use as free building material, and at more remote beaches it’s being taken away by the lorry-load.
Illegal Chinese Sand Mining Causing Massive Land Reduction in Kinmen
From 2007 to 2012, the coastline in parts of Taiwan-governed Kinmen -located off the coast of southeastern China- has reduced more than 200 meters and the total land loss currently adds up to 250,000 square meters. Many experts and Kinmen locals, believe this ongoing phenomenon can be attributed to illegal Chinese sand miners operating along the coast.