Synergies and Conflicts of Sand Mining Activities with UN Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract:

Sand is the most extracted material worldwide. Rapid urbanization and global population growth have fueled the demand for sand. The growing pressure on the world’s sand resources comes with significant consequences for the natural environment potentially with far-reaching effects on ecology, local infrastructure, and human livelihoods.Simultaneously, sand plays an economically important role as a ‘Development Mineral’, employing millions of people, improving livelihoods and reducing poverty. Another paradox is exemplified in the complex relationship between sand and disease prevention; building better homes protects and improves the health of millions of people in the Global South, but requires sand, which is known to create breeding sites for malaria mosquitoes in the extraction process.

A crucial component of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to improve conditions for the world’s poorest and most marginalized regions. Here, we assess and review sand mining activities, with multiple direct and indirect interactions with the SDGs and calculate simple scores of conflicts and synergies. For certain goals, we find positive developments with notable synergies, however, especially for goals 13, 14, and 15 (Climate action, Life below water, Life on land, respectively) clear conflicts are present. It is evident that while sand is a key ingredient to many aspects of modern civilization, mining of this material creates problems that the SDGs are focusing on addressing. In the wider context of the SDGs, conflicting interests can be seen between goals intended to safeguard the environment and those promoting economic development, improving health, limiting poverty, and levelling inequality.

With a rising demand for sand, and regulations lacking behind, we risk damaging the environment with high societal consequences if we do not dedicate the resources, research and action needed to tackle the problem. It is essential to also understand the importance of sand in improving health and livelihoods in the developing world. Gaining a better understanding will help guide further efforts to minimize the negative effects and set the way towards creating a comprehensive assessment of the intersecting relationships between sand mining, poverty reduction, and overall livelihood improvement.