ANSWER

• INTRODUCTION – WHAT IS SAND MINING
• BODY - IMPACTS OF MINING
• A BRIEF CONCLUSION

Sand mining is a practice that is used to extract sand, from various environments, such as beaches, inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds, and river beds of deltaic regions

Environmental problems occur when the rate of extraction of sand, gravel and other materials exceeds the rate of deposition.

THE IMPACT

• The extraction of sand from the coast affects the coastal terrain and leads to coastal erosion. Ex: In Karnataka, aggressive sand mining is leading to coastal erosion as it destructs the natural barrier of the cost.
• Rampant sand mining causes the depletion of sand from coastal areas, which results in the deepening of rivers and estuaries, and the enlargement of river mouths and coastal inlets.
• Coastal sand Mining may also lead to saline-water intrusion from the nearby sea and the effect of mining is compounded by the effect of sea-level rise.
• Coastal Mining not only disturbs the coastal terrain but also the life in the beach ecosystem. The destruction caused in the life of the turtles such as the Olive Ridley sea turtle is the best example to understand the impact of sand mining. To lay their eggs turtle arrive at beaches and dig nests in the sand. After laying their eggs, the turtles cover them with sand to protect the nests from predators. When the hatchlings emerge, they move across the beach and enter the sea. However, when sand mining occurs in turtle nesting habitats, it leads to the loss of nesting sites.
• Due to coastal sand mining, dust particles get suspended in water that creates turbidity in the water. And a barrier is created through turbidity that prevents sunlight from entering the water, which is harmful to corals’ life that need sunlight. Fish may also die-off due to a lack of food and oxygen in the turbid waters. Thus, the entire aquatic system may fail due to sand mining.
• Nature has its own beauty that it develops a weapon to tackle the disaster created by itself. For example, beaches, dunes, and sandbanks act as barriers to flooding. The sand mining destroys such barriers. As a result, areas near the sea or river become flood-prone.
• Sand dunes are part of the beach system and provide reservoirs of sand that feed the beach during tropical storms and hurricanes. If they are destroyed, coastal lands are vulnerable to flooding. Beach erosion takes place because of sand mining and effect homes and livelihoods.
• The extraction of sand from the riverbed may affect their survival and recruitment ability.Dust caused by trucks can impede the photo synthesis of plants. As sand mining destabilises soil structure, river banks and often leaves isolated islands of trees, subsequent flow will erode the banks and islands.

So, it can be stated from the above statement that it is necessary to ensure by the state governments that mining volumes do not exceed the predetermined sustainable mining quantity proposed. And to prevent a disturbance in the beach ecosystem caused by rampant sand mining, strict measures must be put in place to ensure that the mining volumes don’t exceed that.