Around 6 billion tons of marine sand is being dug up each year in a growing practice that a U.N. agency said is unsustainable and can wipe out local marine life irreversibly.
Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water but its extraction for use in industries like construction is only loosely governed, prompting the U.N. to pass a resolution last year to promote more sustainable mining.
The findings from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) coincide with the launch of a new platform ‘Marine Sand Watch’ backed by funding from the Swiss government that monitors dredging activities using marine tracking and artificial intelligence.
“The amount of sand we are withdrawing from the environment is considerable and has a large impact,” UNEP’s Pascal Peduzzi told a Geneva press briefing.
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