sand mining
Extracting riverbed sediment
Sand mining is the extraction of sand from natural deposits—riverbeds, beaches, ocean floors, or inland dunes—for use in construction, land reclamation, and manufacturing.
Global demand for concrete has made sand one of the most extracted resources on Earth, leading to environmental damage: eroded coastlines, destabilized riverbeds, and destroyed ecosystems.
Much sand mining is illegal or poorly regulated.
Sand mining has caused several Indonesian islands to disappear.
- dredgingExtracting underwater sediment
- erosionGradual wearing away
- habitat lossElimination of living spaces
- riverbedsChannel floors of streams
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
construction boom · scooping · smuggling · Mekong Delta · Singapore · hydraulic fracturing · desertification · water pollution · black market · road construction · air pollution · sustainable practices · noise pollution · silica · silt · environmental · ecosystem · quarry
sand miningland reclamation
Creating ground from water
erosion control · river restoration · revegetation · habitat restoration
sand mininghabitat preservation
Safeguarding natural living spaces
environmental protection · nature conservation · wilderness preservation