Results of an intensively sand mined beach and shoreline, near Larache, Morocco, Northern Africa. Blond and beautiful expanses of beach sand have disappeared, revealing now a bare landscape. Captions and Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
Three days a week, workers on Morocco’s Larache beach drive bulldozers over the dunes and dig up all the sand they can. Tons of it. Their bosses have permits, but many come here illegally on the weekends, using donkeys and shovels to ravage the land even further.
A critical ingredient in concrete, glass, and microchips, sand is a hot commodity. The international community imports a little over a billion dollars of it a year, and about half of Morocco’s sand trade is illegal.
Excerpts; Version Originale
Trois jours par semaine, les travailleurs de Larache, au Maroc, amènent des bulldo-zers sur la plage et prennent autant de sable qu’ils le peuvent. Quoique leurs patrons disposent de permis, ils viennent aussi en toute illégalité les week-ends, se servant d’ânes et de pelles pour ravager un peu plus le paysage…
Read Full Article V.O: “Les pilleurs de sable,” VICE Magazine (07-02-2015)
VIDEO: “Les Voleuses de Sable,” France 3 Thalassa
Le Cap Vert offrent un petit coin de paradis perdu au milieu de l’atlantique. Et pourtant ces îles rocailleuses n’ont pas beaucoup de richesses à offrir à leurs habitants. La plupart des matières premières sont importées, sauf le sable. Du sable qui est devenu l’unique source de revenus pour les femmes de l’archipel. Elles le revendent à l’industrie du bâtiment, en pleine expansion…
The Deadly Global War for Sand, WIRED Magazine (03-26-2015)
Sand Thieves Are Eroding World’s Beaches For Castles Of Cash, by Martine Valo, Le Monde
The pillaging of sand is a growing practice in the world. This is because it represents 80% of the composition of concrete that it is the object of such greed…
Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks: A UNEP report (March 2014)
Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public…
Sand Wars, An Investigation Documentary, By Denis Delestrac
Sand Mining in Morocco: Learn More, Coastal Care
Global Sand Mining: Learn More, Coastal Care
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
