Cemex mine reflects human hunger for sand, California

The disappearance of the beach reflects an alarming reality: Southern Monterey Bay, Marina in particular, has the highest coastal erosion rate in the state of California. For more than 20 years, scientists have speculated about the sand mine’s contribution to that erosion rate, and a 2008 study concluded it was the primary cause. The Cemex mine in Marina is the only remaining coastal sand mine in the entire United States. Which leads to new questions.

The environmental loss of illegal sand mining in South Africa

Research shows that KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are home to more than 200 illegal sand mining operations. Umvoti River sand is as good as gold in the construction industry. Its stellar components have placed it among the best sand in South Africa for building purposes. But this comes at a great environmental loss.

Beijing highway: $600m road just the start of China’s investments in Caribbean

Stretching some 67 km north to south across Jamaica, the $600m four-lane nicknamed the “Beijing highway, is the single biggest investment by the Chinese in the Caribbean. This project is also prelude of the building of a $1.5bn deep water container port on islands off the south coast ,using dredging and land reclamation to accommodate mega ships coming through the expanded Panama Canal.

Leatherback sea turtles choose nest sites carefully, study finds

After hatching and dispersing across the world’s oceans, the female leatherbacks return to their natal beaches to lay clutches of eggs in the sand. A new study offers fresh insights into their nesting choices. However, human encroachment on leatherback nesting beaches, in the form of beachfront construction and sand mining, is a major threat to the animals’ continuation as a species.

Paradise Lost? Beach sand mining, Ngapali beach, Myanmar

Twenty years ago Ngapali Beach, on the Bay of Bengal, was an unspoilt gem in the crown of Myanmar’s natural treasures. Times have changed. Beach sand mining at Ngapali, has disturbed the natural balance.
A dossier and photo reportage by Oliver Soe Thet.