UN Warns: Sand Dredging Threatens Ocean Floor Sterilization

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned that the practice of sand dredging, which involves extracting around 6 billion tons of marine sand annually, is unsustainable and can have irreversible effects on local marine life. Sand is the second most exploited natural resource in the world, but its extraction for industries like construction is poorly regulated. Some companies remove all the sand to the bedrock, sterilizing the ocean floor and preventing life from recovering. While the global extraction rate is currently lower than the sand deposited by rivers, certain areas are experiencing a depletion of sand faster than it can be replenished. China, the Netherlands, the United States, and Belgium are among the most active countries in the sand dredging sector.