By Francis Kokutse, in Accra, Ghana
Francis Kokutse is a journalist based in Accra and writes for Associated Press (AP), University World News, as well as Science and Development.Net. He was a Staff Writer of African Concord and Africa Economic Digest in London, UK.
I used to think sand winning was nothing to worry about until I watched a recent documentary on the problems it is causing in other parts of the world.
Before that, my concentration had always been on the changing skylines of Africa with skyscrapers all over the continent. This is good news because for some, it is a demonstration of how development is taking place on the continent. What we have not put into the equation to get a proper perspective is, how are we getting the sand that goes into these buildings? For this reason, it is time attention is drawn to environmental degradation. We need to know that sand is a resource that must be protected but we are not doing so.
Like other problems, though sand winning has become a topic to tackle in other jurisdictions, Africa has not yet touched it, as if it is a taboo subject. So, it is about time that our authorities started discussing this issue because if we don’t act now, it might not take long for us to face the consequences.
I changed my mind on looking at skyscrapers taking over Africa’s skylines as a signal that our cities were going through some developmental process after a visit to Ada, some 110 kilometres outside Accra. This town is becoming the playground for the rich with holiday homes on the banks of the Volta River. In addition to these homes, some entrepreneurs have set up hotels and attractions.
Admittedly, jobs are being generated for the young people in the town. Unfortunately, locals are reporting that with the spotlight on illegal miners, some of the people have sent their equipment to the town to engage in sand winning from the basin of the Volta River. This is where the trouble is starting.
This should not have raised any eyebrows because the numerous buildings springing up need sand and those who are mining the sand are just doing legitimate business. But then, with reports from around the globe showing that mining sand from rivers and sea-beds is helping to destroy the environment, it is only appropriate that we should start talking to those involved in this growing business before it is too late.
The United Nations has warned that sand, the most consumed natural resource on the planet, is non-renewable and has estimated that mining of sand and gravel may exceed 40 billion tonnes a year. The UN says due to the high demand for sand, the planet’s reserves are now being threatened: three-quarters of the world’s beaches are already in decline.
The non-governmental organisation, Sandstories, says sand is used in our daily life in numerous ways. Houses, skyscrapers, bridges, airports, and sidewalks are all partially made of sand, making it an essential requirement for the construction booms happening around the world.
In addition, road construction has increased, so we are consuming sand more than ever before. Unfortunately, we have not thought about where this sand is coming from, as we think that it is readily available. Maybe it is because we think it has no value presently.
This is obvious because sand comes with dirt and not many people in high places have thought about whether at the rate at which we are using sand, it is possible to sustain its production over a period.
In addition, Sandstories says, this supposed natural resource is also the source of silicon dioxide, or silica, a mineral found in our wines, cleaning products and detergents, paper, toothpaste, and an astounding variety of other products we use daily.
It’s almost become like air – the air we breathe. We don’t think too much about it, but you can’t live without it,” says the founder of Sandstories.org, Kiran Perira. It has also been discovered that, “sand extraction has been going on round-the-clock decimating the river basin and all those who depend on its ecosystem services. Rampant legal and illegal sand mining from the river has resulted in damage to agriculture on both banks of the river as well as fishing along the river,” according to Sandstories.
What we are not doing is to sit back and evaluate what harm we are doing to the environment. Typical of Africa, we are waiting till some serious issues come up before we try to fight the mining of sand from the riverbeds.
Since we don’t seem to care, let it be known that from work that Sandstories has done, the mining of sand has exacerbated inland and coastal erosion. As a result, land along the riverbanks has ‘evaporated’ and many have lost not only their property but also their means of livelihood. Clearly then, those who are now building holiday homes along the Volta in Ada will be the first to experience the loss of their properties.
The story in Ada can be seen all over Africa with such serene riverbanks, suffering the same fate because of the need to build holiday homes and tourist attractions. But we must heed the warning that like everything, the more we mine the sand, the more we create the conditions for a devastating future.
For this reason, let it be known as Sandstories has put out, Sand is not a renewable resource. “Though it may seem hard to believe, our demand for sand far outstrips the supply,” said Sandstories. This is true because the beaches, riverbeds and sea banks may not be able to produce the sand we need soon and for this reason, they have warned that “indiscriminate extraction of sand has dire consequences.” We need to just sit back and imagine what will happen if we continue to mine sand at the rate at which we are doing currently.
The truth about sand as has now been made clear is that, technically speaking, it does get renewed by nature. Sandstories says sand production takes “geological timescales” that is, millions and even billions of years to produce because it is formed not only from mountains and rocks through erosion, but also from sea weeds, shells and the action of other living organisms.
“While nature’s factory takes millions of years, humans have become adept at using up sand in a region within decades. Many industries and products are built on the assumption that sand is an abundant (hence cheap) resource. However, we’re beginning to see reports about shortage of sand across the world,” said Sandstories.
Thus, it is no longer “what should we do?” Rather we must be taking the necessary action by restricting the river bed mining of sand immediately. We must start looking at how to construct our buildings using less sand. We need also to look at bridge construction to see how it could be done using less sand.
These are issues that should concern our research institutions, so that we can be the first to find solutions to this global problem to make financial returns. If we don’t, others who are currently engaged in research across the globe will beat us to it and we will have to pay more for something that we should have done.
Africa should not always remain at the mercy of the developed nations for everything that concerns us too. Our research institutions must wake up!
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