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Present in concrete, glass, and technology, sand has become a resource contested on a global scale, with increasing extraction in rivers, beaches, and seabeds, and impacts monitored by scientists and international organizations.
The world uses about 50 billion tons of sand and gravel per year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The material is present in concrete, asphalt, glass, fiber optic cables, and stages of the silicon chain used in the manufacture of electronic components.
Although it seems abundant, sand suitable for construction depends on specific characteristics and cannot be replaced, in most cases, by desert sand.
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A report released by the UNEP in May 2026 states that global demand for sand is growing faster than natural replenishment in several regions.
The agency advocates that the resource be treated as strategic and that governments create clearer rules to map, authorize, and supervise extraction.
The pressure on this market helps explain why rivers, beaches, deltas, and seabeds have become targets of economic and environmental disputes.
When removed from these environments, sand ceases to fulfill natural functions, such as stabilizing banks, nourishing beaches, filtering water, and reducing the exposure of coastal areas to erosion.
Why desert sand does not solve the construction crisis
The construction industry uses sand with a shape and grain size capable of providing strength to concrete mixtures.
In general, grains from rivers, ancient aquatic areas, and coastal zones have a profile more suitable for this purpose than wind-transported sand in deserts, which tends to be more rounded and fine.
Earth scientist Eline Rentier, from the University of Bergen, states that the industry needs more angular grains.
According to her, when sand has been eroded for a long time and its grains have become very rounded, the concrete produced with this material tends to have poorer structural performance.
This limitation makes construction sand a more restricted resource than the landscape suggests.
The material sought by the industry is precisely in environments that also support ecosystems, riverside communities, coastal zones, and local economic activities.
A study by Rentier and L. H. Cammeraat, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, states that the demand for construction-grade sand is growing rapidly and that the world may face a shortage of this type of resource by 2050 if consumption and extraction patterns do not change.
The research also identifies physical, biological, chemical, and social effects associated with river mining.
The material that appears in concrete, glass, and technology
Sand is a central input for the production of concrete and asphalt, materials used in buildings, bridges, roads, ports, and dams.
It is also used in the manufacture of glass and is part of industrial chains related to silica, quartz, and silicon.
In the case of chips, the relationship does not occur with ordinary sand taken from any beach.
The manufacture of semiconductors involves silicon obtained from silica-rich materials, subjected to industrial purification processes.
Therefore, the mention of sand in this sector needs to consider the difference between the grain used in civil construction and the high-purity raw material required by the electronics industry.
The UNEP report differentiates between sand kept in ecosystems and sand transformed into products and works.
The first remains in rivers, beaches, deltas, and coastal zones, where it participates in the natural dynamics of these environments.
The second becomes part of concrete, asphalt, glass, and other materials, ceasing to perform these ecological functions.
How sand mining affects rivers, beaches, and the seabed
Mining in riverbeds and banks can alter the shape of channels, increase water turbidity, and reduce habitats used by microorganisms, fish, and aquatic plants.
These impacts are not necessarily restricted to the extraction point, as sediments move along the watercourses.
According to Rentier, removing sand from a riverbed removes habitats for microorganisms and can alter the water flow or the level of the water table.
These changes, according to the researcher, can affect fish and other organisms living in the river environment.
In marine areas, dredging can generate noise, resuspension of sediments, and changes in nutrient availability.
The Pnuma states that extraction in coastal and marine ecosystems can affect habitats of fish, turtles, birds, and crabs, as well as interfere with communities that depend on these environments.
The UN also points out that the decline in terrestrial stocks has led some mining to move to the seabed.
According to Reuters, based on the Pnuma report, half of the marine dredging companies operate within protected marine areas, a fact cited by the agency as a sign of the need for stricter governance.
Illegal sand market hinders oversight
The high demand for sand also fuels illegal extraction in different regions.
In countries like India, networks known as the “sand mafia” operate in the clandestine removal from rivers and banks to supply the construction industry.
The term is used by authorities, researchers, and international media to describe criminal groups linked to the irregular trade of the material.
Scientific literature and international reports record cases of intimidation and violence against residents, activists, and journalists who reported illegal mining schemes.
As part of the activity occurs outside official controls, estimating volumes, revenues, and environmental damage remains a challenge for researchers and public agencies.
For this reason, numbers on the size of the illegal market vary greatly between sources and should be treated with caution.
Instead of presenting estimates without independent confirmation, the safest approach is to point out that clandestine extraction is significant, occurs in different countries, and complicates the management of a resource already pressured by the construction industry.
Pākiri exposes dispute between mining, communities, and conservation
In New Zealand, Pākiri Beach has become one of the most cited cases of conflict between sand mining, construction, local communities, and conservation.
For decades, the company McCallum Brothers extracted sand from the region north of Auckland to supply construction and urban uses.
For the iwi Ngāti Manuhiri, a Maori people linked to the territory, dredging posed an environmental and cultural risk.
The region also hosts the tara iti, known in English as the fairy tern, one of the country’s most threatened native birds.
The species nests in dune and beach areas, which makes changes in the coastal environment a concern for conservationists.
On September 2, 2025, the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust announced an agreement with McCallum Brothers that ended dredging in Pākiri.
Terrence “Mook” Hohneck, chairman of the trust, said that sand is crucial for concrete production, but that any mining in Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, must mitigate environmental impacts and prioritize the health of the taiao, or natural environment.
The case did not eliminate the pressure for new extraction points.
In 2026, McCallum Brothers submitted a request to extract sand in Bream Bay.
Documents from the process in the New Zealand government indicate that the request was filed on January 26, 2026, and considered complete on February 17 of the same year.
Materials associated with the project describe a rectangular area of 7 kilometers by 2.2 kilometers, at least 4.7 kilometers from the coast of Te Ākau Bream Bay.
Groups opposing the proposal claim that the plan foresees the removal of up to 150,000 cubic meters per year in the first three years and up to 250,000 cubic meters annually in the following period, numbers that also appear in local reports about the process.
Manufactured sand and new alternatives being tested
One of the expanding alternatives is manufactured sand, produced from rock crushing.
This material can reduce pressure on rivers and beaches when used with technical control, although it also involves mining, energy, and its own impacts.
China, the largest global consumer of sand, has increased the use of this type of substitute.
According to a survey cited by the Global Landscapes Forum, manufactured sand already accounts for a majority share of China’s annual consumption, a fact associated with the attempt to reduce dependence on natural sand.
Researchers are also investigating ways to use desert sand in construction.
Studies linked to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo are testing mixtures that combine rounded grains with wood particles and heat to produce an experimental material.
Ren Wei, a postdoctoral researcher at NTNU, states that the process is relatively simple, but still needs to undergo more tests before widespread use, especially in cold environments.
The solutions under study do not eliminate the need for governance, according to UNEP.
The agency recommends national sand inventories, transparency in licensing, extraction monitoring, reuse of construction waste, and assessment of environmental effects before material removal.
Sand remains present underfoot, in city walls, in rivers, and on beaches.
The difference, experts and international organizations point out, is that its availability depends on the type of grain, the extraction location, and the time nature needs to replenish sediments.
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