Illegal sand mining, coastal Morocco. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
The pillaging of sand is a growing practice in the world. Taken by hand, three or four meters deep in the Maldives archipelago, or transported on a donkey, or sucked up by huge sand boats in Asia, coastal sand mining, authorized or unlawful, is exploding.
Sand, the second most important natural resource in the world after water, is present in a number of products, from glass to microprocessors. However, it is because it represents 80% of the composition of concrete that it is the object of such greed…
Read Full Article, By Martine Valo, Le Monde / Worldcrunch
Article Original: “Les Pilleurs De Sable Ecument Les Plages Du Monde,” Martine Valo / Le Monde
Sur les plages du Maroc, près de Tanger ou de Casablanca, les dunes ont disparu, laissant apparaître un paysage lunaire. Elles n’ont pas été effacées sous l’effet de tempêtes, mais volées nuit après nuit par des escouades de camions pour construire des résidences destinées à l’afflux de touristes qu’attire la réputation de ce rivage au sable doux. Le phénomène est le même depuis des années dans toute la région des Caraïbes : de la Jamaïque à Barbuda, les plages ont rétréci…
” Le Sable: Enquête sur Une Disparition” / Sand Wars; An Investigation Documentary, By Denis Delestrac, a Film Documentary Produced by Rappi Productions and La compagnie des Taxi-Brousse
Sand: Most of us think of it as a complimentary ingredient of any beach vacation. Yet those seemingly insignificant grains of silica surround our daily lives. Every house, skyscraper and glass building, every bridge, airport and sidewalk in our modern society depends on sand. We use it to manufacture optical fiber, cell phone components and computer chips. We find it in our toothpaste, powdered foods and even in our glass of wine (both the glass and the wine, as a fining agent)!
Is sand an infinite resource? Can the existing supply satisfy a gigantic demand fueled by construction booms? What are the consequences of intensive beach sand mining for the environment and the neighboring populations?
Based on encounters with sand smugglers, barefoot millionaires, corrupt politicians, unscrupulous real estate developers and environmentalists, this investigation takes us around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: the “SAND WARS” have begun…
Le Sable, Enquête sur une Disparition (diffusion Mardi 28 mai) – Société et culture, ARTE TV
A la fin du XXIème siècle, toutes les plages auront disparu. Tel est le constat alarmant que posent de nombreux scientifiques et ONG.« Le Sable, enquête sur une disparition » est un éco-thriller d’investigation qui révèle la bataille méconnue que se livrent entrepreneurs, contrebandiers, écologistes, politiques et populations locales : l’exploitation du sable.
BE THE CHANGE:
PETITION: Take Action To End Global Beach Sand Mining, Coastal Care
Illegal beach sand mining, near Tangier, Morocco. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
