07-19-2017, 09:26 PM
*** 20-Jul-17 World View -- Cambodia bans all sales of sand to Singapore
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Cambodia bans all sales of sand to Singapore
****
![[Image: g170719b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170719b.jpg)
Cambodian villagers protest sand dredging after nine homes collapsed into the river (Khmer Times)
Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has banned all sales and
exports of sand to other countries. For years, the principal customer
of Cambodia's sand exports has been Singapore, which has used the sand
to reclaim land along its coasts. Using land reclamation, Singapore
has expanded its landmass by more than 20% since its independence in
1965. During the same period, Singapore's population tripled.
The new decree, issued on July 10, bans all exports of "construction
sand and mud sand" from southwestern Koh Kong province to overseas but
stops short of outlawing domestic sales. Other southeast Asian
countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, have implemented
bans in the past.
Environmental groups have been pressing the government to stop the
export of sand, saying the digging and dredging has had a serious
impact on coastal ecosystems and surrounding land. In one Cambodian
district where sand dredging had been taking place, nearly 200 people
last month held a protest against the sand dredging. They called on
authorities to take action after nine homes collapsed into the river,
as a result of the dredging.
Cambodia had already suspended sand exports in November of last year,
because of a corruption scandal. Singapore claims that it had
imported 72.2 million tonnes of sand between 2007 and 2015, the
Cambodian government officials said that only 16 million tonnes had
been sent. In money terms, the UN said that Cambodia had exported
$752 million in sand, but Cambodia claimed it was only $5 million
worth of sand.
Environmental activists are skeptical that the new ban will be
enforced. After Cambodia suspended sand exports in November of last
year, illegal exports continued despite the order. Khmer Times and Khmer Times (12-June) and Radio Free Asia (2-Nov-2016) and AFP and Radio Free Asia (5-May)
****
**** The world is running out of sand
****
In 2014, the United Nations Environment Program concluded that:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Sand and gravel represent the highest volume of raw
> material used on earth after water. Their use greatly exceeds
> natural renewal rates. Moreover, the amount being mined is
> increasing exponentially, mainly as a result of rapid economic
> growth in Asia. ...Negative effects on the environment are
> unequivocal and are occurring around the world. The problem is now
> so serious that the existence of river ecosystems is threatened in
> a number of locations."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Sand and gravel are used for land reclamation, as in the case of
Singapore, but for a lot of other things as well. They're the main
constituents in concrete and asphalt that are used in building
constructions, roads, and many other structures. A typical American
house requires more than two hundred tons of sand, gravel, and crushed
stone for the foundation, basement, garage, and driveway, as well as
the section of street in front of it. A mile long highway requires
38,000 tons.
In the last four years, China has used as much concrete as the United
States in one century, according to Pascal Peduzzi, the author of the
UN report quoted above. In India, sand is so scarce that
markets for it are dominated by criminal "sand mafias."
According to the UN report:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Five countries — China (58%), India (6.75%), the
> United States (2%), Brazil and Turkey — produce 70% of the world’s
> cement. However, cement demand by China has increased
> exponentially by 437.5% in 20 years, while use in the rest of the
> world increased by 59.8%. Each Chinese citizen is currently using
> 6.6 times more cement than a U.S. citizen. Demand continues to
> increase with new infrastructure and renewal of existing
> infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, houses) — all dependent on
> the availability of aggregates."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
UN's Peduzzi says that Lake Poyang, for example, is China's biggest
freshwater lake but also its biggest source of sand, with estimates of
over 230 million cubic meters of sand extracted each year. This is
lowering the lake's water level, potentially damaging surrounding
wetlands and affecting the flow of nearby rivers, including the
Yangtze.
According to Peduzzi, the exponentially growing demand for sand cannot
continue without substantially harming the environment, and the world
needs a "reporting mechanism at the global level which allows
recording the amount of sand and gravels used by countries." New Yorker (29-May) and UN Environment Program (PDF, 2014) and Nikkei
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Cambodia, Koh Kong, Singapore,
United Nations Environment Program, Pascal Peduzzi,
China, Lake Poyang, India
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Cambodia bans all sales of sand to Singapore
- The world is running out of sand
****
**** Cambodia bans all sales of sand to Singapore
****
Cambodian villagers protest sand dredging after nine homes collapsed into the river (Khmer Times)
Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has banned all sales and
exports of sand to other countries. For years, the principal customer
of Cambodia's sand exports has been Singapore, which has used the sand
to reclaim land along its coasts. Using land reclamation, Singapore
has expanded its landmass by more than 20% since its independence in
1965. During the same period, Singapore's population tripled.
The new decree, issued on July 10, bans all exports of "construction
sand and mud sand" from southwestern Koh Kong province to overseas but
stops short of outlawing domestic sales. Other southeast Asian
countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, have implemented
bans in the past.
Environmental groups have been pressing the government to stop the
export of sand, saying the digging and dredging has had a serious
impact on coastal ecosystems and surrounding land. In one Cambodian
district where sand dredging had been taking place, nearly 200 people
last month held a protest against the sand dredging. They called on
authorities to take action after nine homes collapsed into the river,
as a result of the dredging.
Cambodia had already suspended sand exports in November of last year,
because of a corruption scandal. Singapore claims that it had
imported 72.2 million tonnes of sand between 2007 and 2015, the
Cambodian government officials said that only 16 million tonnes had
been sent. In money terms, the UN said that Cambodia had exported
$752 million in sand, but Cambodia claimed it was only $5 million
worth of sand.
Environmental activists are skeptical that the new ban will be
enforced. After Cambodia suspended sand exports in November of last
year, illegal exports continued despite the order. Khmer Times and Khmer Times (12-June) and Radio Free Asia (2-Nov-2016) and AFP and Radio Free Asia (5-May)
****
**** The world is running out of sand
****
In 2014, the United Nations Environment Program concluded that:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Sand and gravel represent the highest volume of raw
> material used on earth after water. Their use greatly exceeds
> natural renewal rates. Moreover, the amount being mined is
> increasing exponentially, mainly as a result of rapid economic
> growth in Asia. ...Negative effects on the environment are
> unequivocal and are occurring around the world. The problem is now
> so serious that the existence of river ecosystems is threatened in
> a number of locations."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
Sand and gravel are used for land reclamation, as in the case of
Singapore, but for a lot of other things as well. They're the main
constituents in concrete and asphalt that are used in building
constructions, roads, and many other structures. A typical American
house requires more than two hundred tons of sand, gravel, and crushed
stone for the foundation, basement, garage, and driveway, as well as
the section of street in front of it. A mile long highway requires
38,000 tons.
In the last four years, China has used as much concrete as the United
States in one century, according to Pascal Peduzzi, the author of the
UN report quoted above. In India, sand is so scarce that
markets for it are dominated by criminal "sand mafias."
According to the UN report:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"Five countries — China (58%), India (6.75%), the
> United States (2%), Brazil and Turkey — produce 70% of the world’s
> cement. However, cement demand by China has increased
> exponentially by 437.5% in 20 years, while use in the rest of the
> world increased by 59.8%. Each Chinese citizen is currently using
> 6.6 times more cement than a U.S. citizen. Demand continues to
> increase with new infrastructure and renewal of existing
> infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, houses) — all dependent on
> the availability of aggregates."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
UN's Peduzzi says that Lake Poyang, for example, is China's biggest
freshwater lake but also its biggest source of sand, with estimates of
over 230 million cubic meters of sand extracted each year. This is
lowering the lake's water level, potentially damaging surrounding
wetlands and affecting the flow of nearby rivers, including the
Yangtze.
According to Peduzzi, the exponentially growing demand for sand cannot
continue without substantially harming the environment, and the world
needs a "reporting mechanism at the global level which allows
recording the amount of sand and gravels used by countries." New Yorker (29-May) and UN Environment Program (PDF, 2014) and Nikkei
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Cambodia, Koh Kong, Singapore,
United Nations Environment Program, Pascal Peduzzi,
China, Lake Poyang, India
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
