Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
Online auction and sales giant eBay has removed numerous listings advertising the sale of sand purported to be from Hawaii beaches, including iconic Papakolea Beach — also known as Green Sands Beach — after the Tribune-Herald inquired about the sand sales.
The listings, which appeared on eBay as recently as Wednesday, were in apparent violation of a Hawaii law that prohibits the taking of beach sand. The statute contains a limited number of exceptions that don’t include personal or commercial sales…
Read Full Article, Hawaii Tribune Herald (11-04-2017)
Council committee wrestles with sand-mining bill, Hawaii; Maui News (06-21-2017)
A Maui County Council committee is considering ways to regulate sand extraction in the county in light of a recent Central Maui sand excavation and export case that came under fire from members of the community…
County warns businesses to stop mining sand, Maui News (04-29-2017)
While sand mining is not illegal here, some community members are concerned about the resource being depleted and shipped off-island and archaeological damage. Mayor Alan Arakawa is among the concerned, saying the sand is needed for Maui projects and replenishing beaches…
Study to deter Maui beach erosion finds offshore sand; Hawaii Tribune Herald (06-06-2016)
300,000 cubic yards of sand have been discovered off Kahana Bay in April, and this offshore sand is intended to be dredged to re-nourish eroding beaches in west Maui…
Doubling of Coastal Erosion by Mid-Century in Hawai’i, Science Daily (03-24-2015)
Chronic erosion dominates the sandy beaches of Hawai’i, causing beach loss as it damages homes, infrastructure, and critical habitat. Researchers have long understood that global sea level rise will affect the rate of coastal erosion. However, new research indicates that coastal erosion of Hawai’i’s beaches may double by mid-century…
70 Percent of Beaches Eroding On Hawaiian Islands Kauai, Oahu, and Maui, USGS (05-08-2012)
Hawaii’s Beaches Are in Retreat, and Its Way of Life May Follow, The New York Times
French beaches’ sand for sale illegally on internet; Le Figaro Economie (10-11-2017)
A french mayor discovered that sand from the town’s local beach, was for sale on the internet. If perhaps seemingly inconspicuous at first glance, this occurence instead reveals far deeper tensions related to the exploitation of this finite ressources.
The discovery of an a priori anecdotal internet ads rose concerns amongst local residents. According to the radio network France Bleu, are offered for sale on internet for only 3 or 4 euros, little bags of sand coming from some beaches in Brittany, and packaged similarly as if it were drugs trafficking…
Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks: A UNEP report (GEA-March 2014)
Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public.
In March 2014 The United Nations released its first Report about sand mining. “Sand Wars” film documentary by Denis Delestrac – first broadcasted on the european Arte Channel, May 28th, 2013, where it became the highest rated documentary for 2013 – expressly inspired the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to publish this 2014-Global Environmental Alert.
The Conservation Crisis No One Is Talking About, By John R. Platt, TakePart (09-21-2016)
Beaches around the world are disappearing. No, the cause isn’t sea-level rise, at least not this time. It’s a little-known but enormous industry called sand mining, which every year sucks up billions of tons of sand from beaches, ocean floors, and rivers to make everything from concrete to microchips to toothpaste…
Sand Wars, An Investigation Documentary, By Multi Award-Winning Filmmaker Denis Delestrac (©-2013)
Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighboring populations…? This investigative documentary takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “Sand Wars” have begun…
