Sand barges. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
Singapore has been accused of launching a clandestine “Sand War” against its neighbours by paying smugglers to steal entire beaches under the cover of night…
The island city-state’s size has increased by over 20 per cent since the 1960s and demand for sand for lucrative land reclamation and development projects is higher than ever.
However, recent bans on exporting sand introduced in Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam have cut off supplies and opened up a thriving smuggling trade.
Thieves have begun making night-time raids on the picturesque sandy beaches of Indonesia and Malaysia, carving out millions of tons of coastline and leading to fears of an imminent environmental catastrophe on a swath of tropical islands…
