UniTEd

Tuareg Desert(N.G.)

            Morocco has plenty of sand, but its vanishing from beaches and surfacing in city buildings, resorts- even a soccer stadium. A major component of concrete, sand is heavily mined to feed construction demands in this desert country and around the globe. It’s also sought for its mineral content and to beef up other beeches. While sandy shores are easy to access and cheap to mine, the result is habitat loss for turtles and birds, battered ecosystems and landscapes, and eroded buffers against storms and rising seas.

Beach sand mining occurs mostly in developing countries, where it is often unregulated. Even where permits are required, such as in Jamaica and parts of India, enforcement is spotty. The extent of the trade isn’t yet known, but it’s growing along with coastal populations, says Adam Griffith, who is compiling a sand-mining database fro the nonprofit Coastal Care to highlight the problem. For now, he notes, “as long as beach sand can be sold, there will be people willing to take it.”

-Jennifer S. Holland( N.G. May 2011)