Gambia: Tourism and the Environment – Tribute to the ‘Unsung Heroes’ Context
Gambia’s tourism industry was bedeviled with a range of menaces including – indiscriminate dumping and littering of our beaches, as well as debasing of our beaches through sand mining and related environmental malpractices to other areas frequented by our coveted guests and tourists. The need to tackle the environmental and sanitary challenges of tourism, head on, therefore became imperative.
Can permaculture save Togo’s precious coastline from the ravages of sand mining? A Video
African countries are raising alarm because of their disappearing coastlines. Beaches erode mainly because of illegal sand mining. A Swiss foundation wants to help Togo restore its coastline.
Madras High Court: the saga of illegal beach sand mining drags on
As the saga of illegal beach sand mining drags on in the Madras high court, an interim order has finally called into question the role, or the lack thereof, played by the Centre over two decades in monitoring, curbing and enforcing laws preventing the illegal mining of beach sands from Tamil Nadu’s shores.
Over 9 million metric tonnes of beach sand was illegally mined, Tamil Nadu
Despite a ban on mining of beach sand since 2013, illicit mining and transportation of beach sand continued on a massive scale. A court filing reports that in 2013, over 90 lakh tonnes (9 million metric tonnes) of beach sand had been mined from 2 districts located at the southernmost tip of peninsular India, in Tamil Nadu State.
Line in the sand, Video
The world is running low on sand. It’s a basic ingredient in construction – think skyscrapers, shopping malls, roads and windows – and cities are growing faster and bigger than at any time in history. Legal supply can’t keep up. So now organised criminals are hitting pay dirt, pillaging millions of tonnes of sand from the India’s beaches, riverbeds and hillsides.
How and why China is building islands in the South China Sea
China has been building manmade bases over some of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea since 2014, specifically targeting shallower areas, sandbanks, and reefs—islands, the shallower the better; a place that won’t sink under a load of concrete.
Sand mining ban lifted on beach in Suriname, causing public backlash
Of the Suriname coast, sand mining barges sighted at Braamspunt beach, came as a shock to the public and to local NGOs alike, as beach sand mining had been banned since December 2015.
India: Govt plans to ease coastal rules, allow land reclamation for commercial use
Bringing in some significant changes in the way it governs its coasts, the government is moving to remove the ban on reclamation of land in coastal areas for commercial or entertainment purposes while also allowing tourism activities even in ecologically sensitive areas along the shores.
Support pours in for woman journalist being harassed by sand mining mafia, India
Students, IT professionals and activists have pledged to stand by independent journalist Sandhya Ravishankar who is under attack for writing a series of articles on alleged illegal beach sand mining