SAND A Resource That’s Washing Away
By Cheryl Lyn Dybas
Sand. It’s under our feet when we walk on
a beach, and is in every house and road,
wine glass and cellphone, brick and can
of paint. But we rarely spare a thought for
this seemingly endless resource.
That needs to change, according to
a 2019 report by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP): Sand
and Sustainability: Finding New Solutions
for Environmental Governance of Global
Sand Resources.
After water, sand is the second most
traded resource by volume worldwide.
Sand and gravel together are the number
one solid material mined globally, accord-
ing to an earlier (2014) UNEP report: Sand,
Rarer than One Thinks.
Researchers are finding that even an
apparently ubiquitous substance like sand
cannot keep up with current demand.
Around the world, 40 to 50 billion tons of
sand and gravel are used every year, the
equivalent of a 35 m high by 35 m wide
wall circling the equator.
“Formed by slow erosive processes,
sand and gravel are now being extracted
at a rate far greater than their renewal,”
states the 2014 UN report. “That’s hav-
ing a major impact on rivers, deltas, and
marine ecosystems, resulting in a loss of
Photo credit: Ilya Raskin
land through river or coastal erosion, low-
ering of the water table, and decreases in
the [downstream] sediment supply.”
Despite the colossal quantities of sand
being removed, our increasing depen-
dence on it, and the impact its extraction
has on the environment, the situation has
been largely ignored by policy makers and
is almost unknown to the public.
“Sand is used by everyone,” says
Pascal Peduzzi, director of the Global
Resources Information Database-Geneva
at UN Environment. Peduzzi first raised
the issue of dwindling sand supplies.
“We are now working with stakeholders
at every level, hoping to find sustainable
solutions,” he says.
SHIFTING SANDS
Shifting sand consumption patterns, grow-
ing human populations, and increasing
urbanization and infrastructure devel-
opment have increased the demand for
sand threefold over the last two decades.
At the same time, damming and extraction
have slowed sediment delivery from rivers
to coastal areas, leading to reduced sand
deposits in river deltas and accelerated
beach erosion.
“We’re spending our sand ‘budget’
faster than it’s being produced,” says
Joyce Msuya, deputy executive director
of UNEP. “We now need 50 billion tons
per year, an average of 18 kilograms per
person per day. These expectations can-
not be met without improved governance
of global sand resources. We can better
manage this critical resource, and demon-
strate that infrastructure and nature can
go hand-in-hand.”
Most sand goes into the production of
concrete—made of sand, gravel, water,
and cement. Sand is also used to replen-
ish retreating beaches and extend territo-
ries by constructing artificial islands, such
as The World in Dubai, or filling in coastal
areas like those surrounding Singapore.
Until recently, sand was extracted from
land quarries and riverbeds. A result of the
decline of inland sand resources, a shift to
marine and coastal sand mining has taken
place. Now sand mining from marine envi-
ronments is increasing significantly.
Sand extraction from fragile marine eco-
systems may destroy local biodiversity.
And the demand for sand may lead to ille-
gal sand extraction. “Sand mafias” in India,
for example, threaten communities and
their livelihoods and leave environmental
protection efforts at risk.
RIPPLE MARKS: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Oceanography | Vol.33, No.1