Vanishing Sands: Losing Beaches to Mining

by Orrin H. Pilkey, Norma J. Longo, William J. Neal, Nelson G. Rangel-Buitrago, Keith C. Pilkey

Overview

In a time of accelerating sea level rise and increasingly intensifying storms, the world’s sandy beaches and dunes have never been more crucial to protecting coastal environments. Yet, in order to meet the demands of large-scale construction projects, sand mining is stripping beaches and dunes, destroying environments, and exploiting labor in the process. The authors of Vanishing Sands track the devastating impact of legal and illegal sand mining over the past twenty years, ranging from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean to South America and the eastern United States. They show how sand mining has reached crisis levels: beach, dune, and river ecosystems are in danger of being lost forever, while organized crime groups use deadly force to protect their illegal mining operations. Calling for immediate and widespread resistance to sand mining, the authors demonstrate that its cessation is paramount for saving not only beaches, dunes, and associated environments but also lives and tourism economies everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478018797
Publisher:	Duke University Press
Publication date:	01/03/2023
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Orrin H. Pilkey is Emeritus James B. Duke Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke Universityand the author and coauthor of many books.

Norma J. Longo, a geologist and photographer, is coauthor with Pilkey of several books on coastal issues.

William J. Neal, Emeritus Professor of Geology at Grand Valley State University, is an expert on ocean and Great Lakes shoreline evolution and coauthor of many books with Pilkey.

Nelson G. Rangel-Buitrago is Professor in the Geology, Geophysics, and Marine-Research Group at the Universidad del Atlántico, Barranquilla, Colombia, and a prolific author of coastal science studies.

Keith C. Pilkey, an attorney concerned with legal issues of coastal development, is coauthor of two books about sea level rise.

Hannah L. Hayes is a scholar of changing land rights, disaster capitalism, and risk management in Barbuda and Fiji.

Table of Contents

Preface  ix
Acknowledgments  xv
1. Who’s Mining the Shore?  1
2. Sand: Earth’s Most Remarkable Mineral Resource  21
3. Singapore Sand Bandits: Sitting on Asia’s Sandpile  43
4. The Sands of Crime: Mafia, Sand Robbers, and Law Benders  56
5. Sand Rivers to the Beach: Choked Flow  77
6. Barbuda and Other Islands: Lessons from the Caribbean  97
7. A Summoner’s Thirteen Tales: South America’s Coastal Sand Mining  118
8. A Different Kind of Sand Mining: Legal but Destructive  143
9. Africa Sands: Desert Abundance—Coastal Dearth  167
10. Beach Mining: Truths and Solutions  185
Appendix A. Sand Mining Violent Events  195
Appendix B. Sand Rights: Bringing Back Reason  197
References  201
Contributors  233
Index  235

What People are Saying About This

The End of Nature - Bill McKibben

“We’re used to thinking of sand as an endless resource—even the metaphor for an endless resource, ‘as plentiful as grains of sand on a beach.’ But as this book makes clear, that view is sadly and completely mistaken. It’s time to understand how valuable sand really is.”

Australian Coastal Systems: Beaches, Barriers, and Sediment Compartments - Andrew D. Short

“A real eye-opener into the latest tragedy happening to our coast—the theft of sand on a massive scale as entire beaches and dunes are trucked and shipped away. Globally researched and richly illustrated, this book exposes and documents the ongoing tragedy, occurring at a time when our coasts need more sand than ever to combat the extreme stress of massive coastal development and climate changes. A must-read for anyone who cares about the coast.”

Editorial Reviews

"Coastal dwellers and tourists alike will find this exposition to be of relevance in the protection of their properties and recreational sites. In a word, this book has wide appeal to diverse populations that have interest in coastal environments where there are beach and dune sands that need protection form robbers of their coastal sand heritage. As far as this book is concerned, perhaps the most that can be said is to buy it, read it, and learn how to protect this valuable coastal resource."

 

Journal of Coastal Research - Charles W. Finkl

"The authors combine their enthralling case studies with actionable suggestions: governments should buy coastal lands 'to create management units,' for instance. Beachgoers, policymakers, and builders alike will something to consider in this shocking study."

Publishers Weekly

"An informative, detailed, extensively documented scholarly examination of sand mining and its associated issues that will appeal to geologists, environmentalists, and those concerned about climate change."

Library Journal - Sue O'Brien

"Dozens of references in each chapter and a detailed index make this an important addition to academic collections that support work in geology, socioeconomics, politics, ecology, and environmental justice. Highly recommended. All readers."

Choice - A. S. Ricker

"Vanishing Sands is a rich collection of the diverse intersection between sand mining and its detrimental effects on society and the environment. It provides numerous impulses for further research on various academic fields’ relationship with sand extraction, such as epidemiology, environmental history, archeology, and law, to name a few. Thus, Vanishing Sands is a critical read for anyone who engages in the interdisciplinary and transnational research of our planet’s coasts and cares about the protection of our beaches."
 

E3W Review of Books - Henrik Jaron Schneider

"The authors present this issue in a direct way, holding my interest with their personal accounts of sand mining activities they have experienced. The target audience is not only environmentalists but anyone who appreciates and values sandy beaches and dunes around the world."

International Journal of Environmental Studies - Jacqueline Stagner

"Vanishing Sands is a quality introduction to the ecological and social challenges created by sand mining. As demand for concrete continues to grow, the cases presented in the text will only become more relevant. Geographers interested in exploring sand mining will find Vanishing Sands a sound launching point for deeper investigation."

Geographical Review - Noel Vineyard