Wealthy nations’ drastic increase in construction sand consumption contributes to erosion of estuaries. Sand worth US$752m was imported by Singapore from Cambodia between 2007 and 2016.
Tag: sand mining
Supreme Court upholds guilty verdict against environmentalists
Cambodia’s Supreme upheld a low court’s decision to sentence three environmental activists for their anti-sand dredging campaign activities in Koh Kong province.
Mekong Delta faces troubling sand shortage
Provinces in the Mekong Delta have run out of sand for construction at a time when many key infrastructure works are in progress.
Why silt is so important for the Mekong
Just as forests are more than only trees, rivers are more than water. The Mekong river carries massive loads of sediment and nutrients from upstream to downstream and across national borders, replenishing and enriching the land as it goes. This process is key to sustaining the ecological integrity of the river and surrounding landscapes, which in turn supports the economy.
However, a boom in sand mining and hydropower development on the Mekong is transforming the river’s sediment flows, with profound consequences for the region if left unchecked. For a prosperous, sustainable future for the region, all Mekong countries must come together now and adopt international standards for managing transboundary river resources.
Myanmar ‘is losing its beaches,’ report claims
Booming construction fuels sand mining, and threatens coastal environment and tourism, writes Denise Hruby in Earth Island Journal, February 4.