Hello!
Today's video is dedicated to the problems of sand mining, which is becoming less and
less.
This is the Mekong River in Southeast Asia, which stretches for 4,500 kilometers and passes
through six countries.
She is the lifeblood of Southeast Asia.
At the bottom of this river lies one of the most important resources on Earth - sand.
And there is more and more evidence that this resource is running out.
Sand or aggregate for concrete is a key component of cement throughout the world.
According to experts, up to 50 billion tons of sand are mined annually in the world.
Sand is critical to construction.
A large part of the world economy depends on it.
It is necessary in order to build roads, skyscrapers, hydroelectric power plants, residential buildings
and other structures.
Only China used more cement between 2011 and 2013 than America used in the entire 20th
century.
Scientists have strong evidence and measurements that show that sand is being extracted at
a rate far greater than the rate at which it is replenished.
So global demand for sand has almost doubled since 2004.
According to their forecasts, in the next 40 years, the use of sand around the world
will increase by 2 times.
If the sand is removed faster than it is replenished, it may soon run out.
And although in the future world there will still be sand.
But it will become more difficult, more expensive, and more harmful to the environment to extract
it.
The ongoing urbanization around the world has made sand a very valuable and sought-after
commodity.
But not all sand is the same, and experts say some mining operations have the potential
to damage ecosystem infrastructure and put people at risk.
But they try not to talk about it.
It is strange that the whole world does not pay attention to this.
On this occasion, there is still no complete picture, there is a lot of unknown.
Every country on earth uses sand, and it is mined in many places around the world.
It is the most mined resource on Earth in terms of production after water.
It accounts for 85 percent of all mining, far more than all fossil fuels.
It has been used as a building material since the dawn of human civilization.
Sand is a very valuable resource, not only as sand in general, but also as specific types
of sand.
From a chemical point of view, sand is crystalline quartz with a rough surface.
Therefore, when sand is added to concrete, the solution is very strong.
Under a microscope, you can clearly see what sharp edges it has, and this is important
in the manufacture of concrete.
Because it bonds well with cement, it makes good concrete.
Many people think that there is a lot of sand on Earth, just look at the numerous deserts
around the world.
But in fact, sand from the desert is not suitable for construction.
The fact is that desert sand is formed as a result of wind erosion.
It has a very smooth texture and at the same time it is fine-grained.
If you look at such sand through a microscope, you can see that the grains of sand resemble
tiny peas of almost perfect even shape.
It is strictly forbidden to use such sand when creating a foundation and other important
construction work.
For this reason, the largest importers of sand are the sand-infested countries, the
countries of the Persian Gulf.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai was built using imported Australian sand.
The expansion of cities around the world has led to an increase in the demand for sand
over the past few decades.
It has grown especially in the countries of Southeast Asia and many other developing countries,
where population growth and economic growth are observed.
70% of the world's annual supply of sand comes from Asia.
Despite the fact that sand is the second largest mined resource in the world, in fact, the
issue of its extraction is very poorly regulated.
There is no monitoring or control of its production.
Therefore, it is difficult for experts to determine exactly how much sand we actually
extract from the earth each year.
This, in turn, makes it difficult to assess the extent of the impact of sand mining on
the environment.
People just don't realize that sand is a limited resource.
The most common and most problematic method of extraction is the extraction of river sand.
There is indeed a lot of excellent high quality sand at the bottom of the rivers.
And it's really easy to get.
All you have to do is send a big dredger and a big barge into the middle of the river.
And then lower the pumping pipe to the bottom of the river.
Start the engine and pump sand into the barge.
It's simple, now you can deliver this sand anywhere.
In addition, there are multinational corporations that use huge dredges to lift sand from the
bottom of the ocean or from the bottom of lakes hundreds of meters deep.
The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world and one
of the most densely populated regions on the planet.
Sixty percent of Bangladeshis get their only animal protein from river fish.
In this country today, one third of all transportation is carried out by waterways.
But now the most popular business in the country has become sand mining.
It is mined in almost all rivers.
The man says the white sand comes from all over Bangladesh.
And all of it is used in construction.
The demand for sand in Bangladesh is constantly growing and this is due to active construction.
All sand mining must be regulated by law.
Each specific miner is assigned a certain part of the river to obtain sand.
But in fact, everything happens far from that.
In most cases, miners go far beyond the leased area and extract sand from sections of the
river that they did not receive a lease.
And surprisingly, no one controls this at the local level.
From this, the entire river ecosystem bears the brunt of unregulated sand mining.
The constant illegal extraction of sand, in fact, leads to the gradual death of rivers.
Serious river erosion occurs.
And because of it, many coastal residents died in the rivers.
Their property and agricultural lands were destroyed.
Their houses, schools, hospitals were swallowed up by the river element.
Between 20 and 50 million Bangladeshis will have to be displaced from coastal areas by
2050 due to river erosion and rising sea levels.
This will be the largest migration in human history.
The sand in Bangladesh is literally covered in bloodstains.
Between 60 and 70 percent of the sand offered on the market is extracted illegally.
This business is completely corrupt.
Sand is so valuable as a resource that people are willing to kill for it.
Thus, a 35-year-old journalist who was investigating a case of illegal sand mining in Bangladesh
was severely beaten.
The sand merchants are so powerful that in some Asian countries they have bought the
entire sand supply system.
Since sand is not cocaine or a weapon, it is very attractive to criminals.
Those who rent the river often turn out to be relatives of local officials.
Sand miners often simply bribe the entire system that is supposed to monitor them and
regulate production.
Today, illegal sand mining is carried out throughout Southeast and South Asia.
People earn money by any means, regardless of permissions.
Corrupt politicians and bureaucrats turn a blind eye to this lawlessness.
They consider this a real impetus to the development of their own economy.
And this is true, the demand for sand has increased significantly.
And there is where to turn around, because the rivers in Asia are one of the largest
in the world.
Worldwide, most of the sand mined is used locally, but some countries have already largely
depleted their sand reserves.
A prime example of this is Singapore.
This country, having exhausted its own sand reserves in the 1960s, is trying to find ways
to seize this resource.
When visiting Singapore, you will notice that there is quite a lot of sand around.
Judging by the color of the sand, it comes from different places and it is quite difficult
to understand where it actually comes from.
As you can see, the sand storage areas are fenced and guarded.
It is known that Singapore is the world's largest importer of sand.
It is a tiny country with very few natural resources, so its economic growth is heavily
dependent on land reclamation.
For Singapore, land reclamation means the use of sand to expand the coastline, acquire
more land, and ultimately increase the total area of the country.
Thus, sand from other countries turns into earth.
Over the past 60 years, this has increased the area of Singapore by at least 22 percent.
And it has also enabled Singapore to build the economy it is today.
And all this thanks to the huge amount of sand.
Singapore, as soon as its own resources were depleted, began to import sand from many other
countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Over time, most of these countries began to ban or restrict the supply of sand to Singapore,
mainly because of the huge environmental impact, and also in part because many of these countries
needed the sand for their own needs.
And as the demand for sand continues to grow in Singapore, today they are effectively using
third parties and intermediaries to trade the sand.
Therefore, it is quite difficult to determine where the sand comes from.
Singapore is forced to do this, otherwise all their plans to increase the territory
will collapse.
All data on the flow of illegal sand are classified.
For example, Cambodia's sand exports do not match Singapore's imports.
All these operations are not completely transparent.
Thus, there are illegal activities in the supply chain.
Sellers know how to bypass customs obstacles.
It turns out that such exports may be illegal, but imports are completely legal.
This is because sand is a completely legal commodity.
Because it's not a weapon or a drug.
No international organization is monitoring this discrepancy.
This is very attractive to criminals who have found their niche.
This niche is perfect.
The less attention the better.
Therefore, sand mining in the Mekong continues at a record pace.
So, despite loud protests, Phnom Penh's largest lake, Boung Kak, was filled with sand mined
in the Mekong.
This was done to free up more land for construction.
It was the largest of the 12 lakes and swamps that disappeared outside the city.
More and more people are losing their homes along the river from mining without receiving
any compensation for it.
This woman says that after 4 months of sand mining, she noticed that the ground around
her house had changed.
One day she woke up at one in the morning and found that the whole earth had collapsed
into the river.
Now she's building concrete piles to save what's left of her house.
The dredging company promised compensation if the property was damaged, but for two years
it received nothing.
The damage amounted to 22 thousand dollars, all her savings for 5 years.
The same story happened with the neighbors.
Another threat of sand mining is the disappearance of fish.
The price of fish is steadily rising.
Catching it has become much more difficult, and its stocks are constantly declining.
Sand mining and built dams destroy fish spawning grounds.
By extracting sand, people destroy the food base of fish.
People living on the banks of the river understand better than anyone that the day of reckoning
is getting closer.
And yet, despite all the problems, the authorities of some Asian countries are trying to fight
illegal sand miners.
For example, in Vietnam, illegal sand mining is carried out not only in the Mekong, but
also in the Red River (Hong A).
The authorities want to control illegal sand mining, which threatens the stability of agricultural
production and the environment.
The People's Committee of the Dong'an District said that it was quite difficult to catch
the miners at the crime scene.
This is due to the fact that sand mining is usually carried out at night and this makes
it difficult for the authorities to detect them.
The extraction of sand is considered illegal only when its amount
is more than 50 cubic meters.
Thus, when cases of excess are detected, violators simply throw the sand back into the river
to avoid punishment.
Law enforcement says cracking down on illegal sand mining has proven difficult as penalties
are not a sufficient deterrent and regulations are lax, suggesting that illegal exploitation
of natural resources should be treated as theft and subject to criminal penalties.
The roar of a dredger, disturbing the peace of a section of the river, is unmistakably
recognized by the inhabitants of coastal villages from afar.
As soon as the barge is filled with sand, the pilot is removed from the anchor and leaves.
Immediately, another barge takes its place.
Geologists believe that the extraction of sand in the rivers will not stop as long as
the demand for sand remains huge and amounts to 100 million cubic meters of sand per year.
For the people living along the Red River, the fight against illegal sand mining has
been their own task for many years, since usually the criminals disappear when the police
show up and return when they leave.
And even when they are caught, the fine is meager.
On a good day, a miner can earn $43,000 from the sale of 2,000 cubic meters of sand, while
detainees are charged with “violating rules related to the exploration, exploration and
exploitation of natural resources” and fined between $4,000 and $9,000.
If the captain does not have sand papers, the authorities confiscate the sand, captains'
licenses, and registration papers from their ships for "carrying minerals without legal
origin," a charge that only entails the confiscation of illegal shipments.
Summing up, we can say that
in order to stop illegal sand mining, global changes in public consciousness and public
life are necessary: taking care of the planet on which we live should become more important
than momentary profit.
That's all.
If you liked this video please like and subscribe to the channel.
See you again.