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Sand: Wanted dead and alive. Use it wisely, warns the UN

Surging global demand for sand, driven by population, economic, urbanization and infrastructure growth, is outpacing sustainable sand supply, threatening the ecosystems and livelihoods on which we depend, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report, Sand and Sustainability: An Essential Resource for Nature and Development.

Sand is extracted for various infrastructure needs that underpin modern society and development. It took nature hundreds of thousands of years to generate sand through gradual, geological erosion processes. Yet we are using sand at the staggering rate of 50 billion tonnes per year; its use for buildings alone is projected to rise by up to 45 per cent by 2060. We are extracting it faster than it replenishes – this is the sand gap.

Sand: Wanted dead and alive. Use it wisely, warns the UN

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