Through its Marine Sand Watch platform, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) made a disturbing discovery on September 5, 2023. With an alarming 6 billion tonnes per year—more than 1 million dump trucks per day—this ground-breaking data endeavor reveals the frightening level of sand and sediment extraction in the world’s oceans. The delicate balance of our ecosystems, coastal communities, and marine species are all seriously threatened by this unregulated extraction.
Unveiling Marine Sand Watch
Marine Sand Watch, created by GRID-Geneva, a Centre for Analytics under UNEP, uses AIS data from ships and artificial intelligence (AI) to track and monitor dredging activities across the world. The North Sea, Southeast Asia, and the East Coast of the United States are among the hotspots for the extraction of sand, clay, silt, gravel, and rock.
Key Findings
- Alarming Scale: According to Marine Sand Watch, sand, and sediments are dredged annually at a rate of 4 to 8 billion tonnes, with data showing an increase from 2012 to 2019. This poses a threat to approaching the 10–16 billion tonnes per year natural replenishment pace, which is crucial for preserving marine and coastal ecosystems.
- Impact on the Environment: Although shallow sea mining for sand and gravel is essential to the construction industry, it has a significant negative impact on the environment. In addition to putting coastal communities at risk from storms and increasing sea levels, it also damages marine biodiversity by causing turbidity in the water, noise pollution, and nutrient changes.
- International procedures and legal frameworks for the extraction of marine sand differ greatly. While some nations, like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, have outlawed the export of marine sand, other nations lack such regulations and adequate oversight.
UNEP’s Call to Action
In its 2022 Sand and Sustainability study, UNEP recommended that immediate action be taken, including the adoption of worldwide standards for marine sand extraction as well as the cessation of sand mining on beaches and in nearby areas. The need for enhanced global dredging standards and better management of marine sand resources was emphasized by Pascal Peduzzi, Director of GRID-Geneva at UNEP.
To achieve monitoring that is almost real-time and better vessel recognition capacities, UNEP/GRID-Geneva intends to further develop its data platform. The University of Geneva is helping to support this program, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment.
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Marine Sand Watch’s findings are a crucial wake-up call. The ecology, coastal populations, and biodiversity are all at risk from the unrestricted exploitation of marine sand. To reduce the negative consequences of this business and protect our seas and coastlines for future generations, it is essential to work together internationally, adhere to strict rules, and adopt sustainable practices.
