How the scramble for sand is destroying the Mekong...

How the scramble for sand is destroying the Mekong (19/12/2019)

So is the world running out of sand? Mark Russell, director of the UK Mineral Products Association, says it is not so much about running out, but reliance on harder to find sand. "While this is a global issue it is playing out at a local scale, it is a resource no one really thinks about," he says.

"The major difficulty with sand mining is that the lack of governance tends to mean that there is not any systematic data on the extent and magnitude of the trade globally." Mr Peduzzi says this is why a world monitoring centre is needed. "At the moment all we have are general estimates and we need to centralise our efforts."

That is in addition to the resolution on mineral resource governance outlined by the UN in March, which stipulates how countries should reduce the impact of sand mining. "We just need to be much more clever in how we use it," says Mr Peduzzi. "Sand has to be recognised as a strategic material, not just an endless supply."