We Are Running Out of...Sand?

The world is running out of sand. Every year another 50 billion metric tons of it is used in construction, glass, microchips, and elsewhere. That makes sand the second-most exploited resource after water.

The UN’s Environment Programme has just released a report sounding the alarm: “Despite the strategic importance of sand, its extraction, sourcing, use, and management remain largely ungoverned in many regions of the world, leading to numerous environmental and social consequences that have been largely overlooked.”

Sand is indeed important. It plays an active role in river, coastal, and marine ecosystems. Removing sand from its natural environments can lead to erosion, salinization of aquifers, and loss of protection against storm surges. Those problems in turn threaten biodiversity, water supplies, food production, and of course livelihoods.

Besides the sheer volume of sand extracted around the world, the fact that its harvest is barely regulated has exacerbated the problem. Paradoxically, regulatory regimes can also make the problem worse. Some countries have banned exports of sand, which has helped create a thriving black market for the stuff.

What to do? UNEP wants an international standard for responsible extraction (if that isn’t a contradiction in terms), including a central authority that can both monitor global sand use and support a transition to alternative materials, such as crushed rock and debris from recycled construction and demolition. First of all UNEP wants the world to know the scope and severity of the problem: it’s big and it’s bad.

Photo credit: UNEP