மணல் கொள்ளை.

மணல் கொள்ளைகள் தமிழகத்தில் இருந்து மற்ற வடமாநிலங்களிலும் பரவிவிட்டது. எவ்வளவு தான் சட்டங்களும், வரையறைகளும், உத்தரவுகள் இருந்தாலும் அனைத்தையும் கட்டிப்போட்டு மணலை கபளீகரம் செய்வதை தடுக்க முடியாத நிலையில் மக்கள் விரோத சக்திகள் கொண்டு செலுத்திவிட்டன. 

இதை குறித்து மாதமிருமுறை இதழான ‘டவுன் டூ எர்த்’ (Down to Earth) எனும் ஆங்கிலஏட்டில் (செப்டம்பர் 16-30) செய்தி கட்டுரையாக வந்துள்ளது. 

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கே.எஸ்.இராதாகிருஷ்ணன்.
28-09-2017

Why even Arab nations are buying sand?

You wouldn't think it could ever run short but it turns out that like many other resources, humans are consuming sand faster than the earth's capacity to replenish stocks. The frenzy of building that has accompanied rising populations across the globe has fuelled indiscriminate mining, spelling danger for the environment. Here is all you need to know about use of sand and its indiscriminate mining.

Why can't we take it from the deserts?

1. Sand used for construction comes mainly from riverbeds and oceans.

2. If you wonder why we can't simply lift it from the deserts, it is because desert sand is too smooth for construction.

Why Sand is important: second only to water?

1. All the major building materials — concrete, bricks, glass — are made using sand.

2. That makes sand the second most used natural commodity after water.

3. Sand constitutes up to 85% by weight of everything mined globally each year, a 2014 UNEP report said.

4. More than 40bn tons of sand and gravel used every year. Mining of sand is a $70 billion industry.

So even Arabs are buying sand

1. Dubai now imports sand from Australia, because it has exhausted its marine sand supply.

2. BBC says UAE imported $456m worth of sand, stone and gravel in 2014.

Why unbridled sand mining is dangerous

1. Sand acts as an aquifer and natural carpet at the bottom of the river.

2. Stripping this layer leads to downstream erosion, changes in channel bed, deepening of rivers, etc.

3. Local groundwater is affected, causing water scarcities that threaten agriculture  4. It also creates habitat and ecological problems.

Sand mining is a global threat now

1. China's biggest freshwater lake — Poyang Lake — is drying up due to sand dredging.

2. In Kenya, sand dredging from the riverbeds of poor rural counties is leaving communities without access to water.

3. Beaches in Morocco and the Caribbean have been stripped of sand, making them vulnerable during rough weather.

What is at risk in India?

Major rivers in Kerala such as the Pampa, Manimala, and Achankovil have faced significant degradation, leading to a sharp fall in ground water table levels. In eastern Uttar-Pradesh, mechanised sand mining in rivers like Chhoti Gandak, Gurra, Rapti and Ghaghara has resulted in soil erosion and turned thousands of acres of land infertile. Coastal sand mining destroys fisheries, disturbs coral, and has led to the near extinction of ghariyals, a crocodile species unique to India. Although regulations exist to limit sand mining, excessive demand has created a booming illegal sand mining sectorworth more than Rs 1,000 cr annually, says CSE.

(Source: BBC; Centre for Science and Environment; MoEF).