Sand barge, Hong Kong. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
“Sand is the second most consumed natural resource, after water. The construction-building industry is by far the largest consumer of this finite resource. The traditional building of one average-sized house requires 200 tons of sand; a hospital requires 3,000 tons of sand; each kilometer of highway built requires 30,000 tons of sand… A nuclear plant, a staggering 12 million tons of sand…” Captions by “Sand Wars” Multi Award-Winning Filmmaker: Denis Delestrac ©-2013.
Excerpts;
From 2007 to 2012, the coastline in parts of Taiwan-governed Kinmen -located off the coast of southeastern China- has reduced more than 200 meters and the total land loss currently adds up to 250,000 square meters. Many experts believe this ongoing phenomenon can be attributed to illegal Chinese sand miners operating along the coast.
According to Kinmen locals, there are currently several huge construction projects in Xiamen, China, and Chinese companies continue to travel to Kinmen to extract sand.
Liberty Times reports, in 2015, the Control Yuan witnessed illegal mining activities in Kinmen and Xiamen during its investigation in Kuningtou. According to the Control Yuan, the sand mining has caused a reduction in the coastline and harmed the ecological environment of Kinsmen…
Read Full Article, The News Lens International (05-03-2016)
Sand Wars, An Investigation Documentary, By Award-Winning Filmmaker Denis Delestrac ©-2013.
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.
Sand Thieves Are Eroding World’s Beaches For Castles Of Cash, by Martine Valo, Le Monde (09-2013)
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 (GEA-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.
In March 2014 The United Nations released its first Report about sand mining. “Sand Wars” film documentary by Denis Delestrac – first broadcasted on the european Arte Channel, May 28th, 2013, where it became the highest rated documentary for 2013 – expressly inspired the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to publish this 2014-Global Environmental Alert.
Global Sand Mining: Learn More, Coastal Care
BE THE CHANGE:
PETITION: Take Action To End Global Beach Sand Mining, Coastal Care
Illegal sand mining, coastal Morocco. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
