The world’s first data platform for the extraction of sand and other sediments in the marine ecosystem has found that the industry of marine dredging is removing 6 billion tonnes of sand each year, which is equivalent to more than one million dump trucks every day. This has a significant impact on the biodiversity of coastal communities.
The brand new platform for data, Marine Sand Watch, monitors and tracks dredging operations of sand, clay silt, gravel and other rocks throughout the oceans of the world as well as hotspots such as that of the North Sea, South East Asia as well as the East Coast of the United States. The platform was developed by GRID-Geneva, a Centre for Analytics within the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP). The platform makes use of Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals from vessels as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to determine the activities of dredging vessels.
The new platform offers details on the areas that are where sand extraction is conducted (sand concessions) and areas of maintenance and capital dredging, hubs for trading in sand, the number of operators and vessels, and the extraction of sediment as well as other kinds of activities carried out in countries that have EEZs. Marine Sand Watch Marine Sand Watch cannot yet find artisanal or very small-scale mining on very shallow coastlines, despite the fact that it is a major issue in certain regions.
The Marine Sand Watch estimates that between 4 to 8 billion tonnes of sand, as well as other sediments, are dug up every year in the coastal and marine environment. In addition, the analysis of data from 2012-19 shows that the magnitude of dredging is increasing. The world is advancing towards an average replenishment of between 10 and 16 billion tonnes per year, which is required by rivers to preserve the marine and coastal ecosystems and function. This is especially true in areas where dredging is more extensive and extraction far exceeds the budget of sediment from the land to the sea.
The shallow sea mining of gravel and sand is crucial to many construction projects. It is a danger to coastal biodiversity that is affected by changes in water turbidity, as well as in the availability of nutrient sources along with noise pollution. The extraction of nearshore or coastal areas can impact the salinization of aquifers as well as future tourist development.
International regulations and practices differ widely. Certain countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, have banned exports of marine sand in the past 20 years, whereas others do not have any laws or efficient monitoring programs.
In the 2022 Sand and Sustainability report, UNEP calls for greater monitoring of sand extraction and usage in the report. The report also recommended to end sand extraction process on beaches and in the active beach-nearshore system with the intention of mining sand for a resource and also to establish an international standard for sand extraction in marine environments.
“The scale of environmental impacts of shallow sea mining activities and dredging is alarming, including biodiversity, water turbidity, and noise impacts on marine mammals,” said Pascal Peduzzi, Director of the GRID-Geneva unit of UNEP.
“This data signals the urgent need for better management of marine sand resources and to reduce the impacts of shallow sea mining,” said the official. added. “UNEP invites all stakeholders, Member States and the dredging sector to consider sand as a strategic material, and to swiftly engage in talks on how to improve dredging standards around the world.”
UNEP/GRID-Geneva is planning to further enhance the accuracy of data and to develop a new version of its platform that will be able to advance towards near-real-time monitoring and enhance detection capabilities close to 100% of vessels used for dredging, and better distinguish between different types of vessels and the related activities.
This initiative is funded through The University of Geneva, with funds through the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. This platform is built on the research conducted by UNEP/GRID-Geneva conducting in conjunction with their research collaborators, Global Fishing Watch and the University of California Santa Barbara.
The UNEP/GRID Geneva work follows an UN Environment Assembly resolution to improve technological, scientific and policy-related knowledge related to sand. It also aims to promote global policies and actions in relation to its sustainable extraction and usage.
