Sara Lira
Cargo boats on Poyang Lake, China. Photo: Imagine China via Associated Press.
Crime feeds Ilegal Organizations in several countries, which has found in this activities a easy way to get financial returns, causing irreversible ambiental damages.
Illegal sand extraction in the world moves, annually, between US $ 181.96 billion and US $ 215.14 billion, on the third position of the main global crimes. The activity looses only for piracy and counterfeiting, which accounts between $ 923 billion and $ 1.130 trillion and drug dealing, with the income between $ 426 billion and $ 652 billion.
In the month in which World Water Day is celebrated, the magazine Mineração & Sustentabilidade brings a special story about one of the most recurrent and most harmful crimes to the environment, especially rivers, lakes and seas, from where the sand is removed without control.
The information found in the beginning of this report are from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) and they are presented in the study "The Illegal Extraction of Sand in Brazil and in the World", released on January. The research was developed by the agent of the Federal Police (PF) and specialist in environmental law, Luís Fernando Ramadon, in the third serie about the subject. In 2016, as published on the magazine Revista Mineração, the specialist approached the illegal extraction in the country. However, in 2015, he developed an analysis called "Accounting for Illegal Mineral Extraction in Rio de Janeiro". Now Ramadon has expanded the debate to other nations, where illegal logging is profitable for criminals.
Updated Ranking of the Top Global Crimes
Updated ranking of Major Global Crime - GFI/LFR
TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
|
US$ billions
| |
1
|
Counterfeiting
|
923,0 - 1.130,0
|
2
|
Drug Trafficking
|
426,0 - 652,0
|
3
|
ILLEGAL SAND EXTRACTION
|
181,96 - 215,14
|
4
|
Human Trafficking
|
150,2
|
5
|
Illegal Logging
|
52,0 - 157,0
|
6
|
Illegal Mining
|
12,0 - 48,0
|
7
|
IUU Fishing
|
15,5 - 36,4
|
8
|
Illegal Wildlife Trade
|
5,0 - 23,0
|
9
|
Crude Oil Theft
|
5,2 - 11,9
|
10
|
Trafficking in Cultural Property
|
1,2 - 1,7
|
11
|
Small Arms & Light Weapons Trafficking
|
1,7 - 3,5
|
12
|
Organ Trafficking
|
0,84 - 1,7
|
Source: Global Financial Integrity – GFI/Study "The Illegal Extraction of Sand in Brazil and in the World", by Luis Fernando Ramadon.
‘’There are some places where this activities has more impact, where mafias has the control. Sand is an cheap resource, but it becomes very expansive when taken from nature without inspection control.In addition, it is not a renewable resource. Developing countries usually need this material to make builds and , so the inspection is very difficult for the police, who initially had no idea of this problem, "said the author of the study.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warned in 2014 about the possibility of sand shortage in the world, due to the growing demand for construction and public works. The resource is accessible and available in rivers, beaches, and deposits, but the activity comes at a price: irreversible environmental damages.
The problem is more common in underdeveloped or developing countries that require sand for construction and urban infrastructure works. At the top of the list are countries in Asia and Africa, such as China, India, South Africa, and other continents, such as the Americas, where Brazil stands out.
However, according to the Director of Global Policy and Sustainability Projects at the European Environmental Bureau, Europe's environmental protection organization, Nick Meynen, the problem is noticeable worldwide. "Unlike oil or uranium, sand is distributed much more evenly throughout the world and problems arise all over the planet as well. It would therefore be a misrepresentation of the reality to point three or four countries where the problem is particularly big - because this problem is glocal = global and local. Moreover, it rarely occurs at the national level, since it usually involves regional or local mafias fighting against local resistance to them", he points out.
In China, for example, cement demand has risen by 400% in the past 20 years, according to UNEP data.
SINCE 2000, EXTRACTIONS ARE PROHIBITED ON THE YANGTZE RIVER, TAKING DREDGING TO POYANG LAKE, LOCATED IN THE PROVINCE OF JIANDXI, IN CHINESE LEST.
This is the largest lake in China, with 3,585 km2, being 170 km length, 17 km width , and depth between 8 and 25 m. The place also holds the world's largest sand mine, from which 236 million cubic meters of raw material are extracted per year.
The activity led to the lowering of the water table, causing damage to the fauna, flora and residents of the area. However, according to the study, the Chinese authorities are addressing the issue, combating the construction of illegal vessels and conducting seizures and arrests, to the extent that it is possible to monitor.
Dredging activities near the shore of Poyang Lake in China. Photo: Lu Jian VCG.
Singapore on the illegal sand route
In Malaysia, the biggest problem is related to the export of illegal sand, usually delivered to Singapore, a country that has grown considerably in recent decades.
THE COUNTRY DOES NOT HAVE MORE SAND FOR EXTRACTION, BEING NECESSARY TO IMPORT TO SUPPRESS THE GROWING DEMAND.
In 2008, legally, the country imported more than $ 273 million in sand, more than any other country in the world.
The necessity of sand in Singapore has also affected areas in Indonesia, that saw the demand as a form of profit. The Indonesia population even destroyed entire islands in the seas between the two countries, due to illegal dredging. In 2003, approximately 300 million cubic meters of sand were shipped from Indonesia to Singapore for US $ 2.5 billion.
Another country that illegally exports to Singapore is Vietnam. According to the study, only in the first two months of 2017, 900.000 cubic meters of sand were transported to Singaporeans - all illegally.
Cambodia is also one of the nations where sand used in Singapore comes from. According to the study, "United Nations data showed $ 752 million worth of sand imports from Cambodia since 2007, although Cambodia reports only about $ 5 million in exports to Singapore."
India
In India, the problem is so serious that those who dare to report can face serious threats or even be killed. In addition to illegal dredging, some people extract the sand manually, at the risk of life. They dive about 30 meters deep to collect sand at the bottom of the river and deposit in buckets without any kind of security.
According to the Washington Post , a mafia acts in the country, controlling this millionaire and illegal market. The activity is fed by the country's unbridled growth, which represents the world's third largest construction business , behind only to China and the United States. The demand for sand is high, however, the country has no regulations on the extraction of the material, which causes environmental damage in the regions where the dredges operate.
Illegal sand mining in the state of Tamil, India. Photo: Sibi Arasu.
In the country, the illegal extraction of sand accounts, per year, about $ 2.3 billion, according to a survey published by the Times of India. But fight agaisnt this activity is pretty difficult by corruption and the involvement of politicians and police authorities in illicit operations. Only in the state of Tamil Nadu are illegally removed 50,000 sand trucks per day. India has another eleven points in the country of illegal dredging.
Fight against corruption
The Corruption is common in several places where extraction takes place. According to Nick Meynen, when there is no local rule, no one can expect acction from a national government.
According to him, in India, for example, the main force of attack is the combination of grassroots activists and the Supreme Court. Some people in government are accomplices of the sand mafia.
Therefore, he states that there are attitudes that non-corrupt governments can perform such as regulating the sand mining sector, setting limits for extraction, and correct/reversible policies that can contribute to the growing demand for sand - for example in the construction. In some countries, builders are forced to recycle the waste from the building before turning to the production of new concrete (requiring sand).
"In general, a combination of strong and binding circular economy policies as well as extractive policies should be endorsed to tackle the main problem, which is the lack of ability of the so-called free market to internalize the real cost to the society of the extraction of sand ", he emphasizes.
Consequences
Occurrences of illegal sand extraction are also recorded in the Bay of Monterrey, California (United States); in South Africa; and Australia. The environmental damage, according to Luis Fernando Ramadon, is uncountable, from increased silting of rivers to destruction of biomes and water courses used by communities in general. Rivers, beaches and lakes are often seriously degraded.
Areal of Cemex, Bay of Monterrey, California (USA). Photo: Edward Thornton.
Another problem is the change in water courses, the decharacterization of the relief with erosion, the destruction of areas of permanent preservation and even air pollution due to the increase of the amount of dust, when the miner extracts outside the authorized area or without having the licenses required.
"I am aware that the world does not develop without mining, but it must be done with sustainability and with the permanent supervision of the State, which must be aware that this is a very profitable crime, being the third in the world in profitability and the first one in degradation. All other environmental crimes do not achieve illegal sand extraction, "says Ramadon.
BRAZIL: RICH FOUNDATION FOR
ILLEGAL MINERATORS
Brazil, is not outside the target of criminals. Here, annual revenue from illegal logging is around R $ 7.665 billion and R $ 8.078 billion, according to the data. The extraction considered illegal when violates the Code of Mining, which legalizes two forms of extraction of the sand.
The first is class II, when sand is used in construction, whose operating license is the responsibility of the municipality. The second is Class VII, when used for industrial purposes, with mining concession granted by the Mines and Energy ministery.
Due to insufficient enforcement, criminals can divert legislation and operate leaving a trail of destruction wherever they go. In Brazil there are records of this illegal activity in all regions of the country and in practically all States.
However, the cases that stand out most, according to the study, are from the municipalities of Seropédica and Maricá, in Rio de Janeiro. The first is the main source of sand in the country, and it consequently suffers from degraded areas. In the place, the sand is extracted leaving cavas that are filled with groundwater of the Piranema Aquifer.
Illegal sand extraction in Seropédica (RJ). Photo: Luis Fernando Ramadon.
"Because of my work, I made several helicopter flights over the sandy beaches of Seropédica, about 60 km from the center of Rio de Janeiro. In this way, I had the opportunity to see how the illegal extraction of sand compromises and degrades not only the environment but also all the places where it occurs, "says Ramadon, who has also served as Head of Operations Nucleus of the Combat Police Station Environmental Crimes and Historical Heritage (DELEMAPH).
Already in Maricá, where there were sandy beaches and even with dunes in the past, nowadays there is still only degradation. In one of them, a large crater was opened, called by the residents of "maracanã".
"The reason for this work at the state, national and global level is to make the State and Society aware that there is a very important crime that must be faced to protect the environment effectively, to avoid such degradation, and to be a way to protect our water resources, the subject of upcoming studies", says Ramadon.
What does the law say in Brazil?
According to the lawyer, Master in Legal Sciences of the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) and author of the book Mining Law, Pedro Ataíde, mining sand in the country without the proper licenses constitutes two crimes. The first one refers to the usurpation of the patrimony of the Union, based on Federal Law 8,166, of February 8, 1991. The second is the committing of environmental crime, provided for in article 55 in the Environmental Crimes Law (9,605 / 1998).
In the opinion of the expert, strengthening enforcement is the most effective means of combating crime. "Improving supervisory work is one way to solve it. The problem of illegal sand extraction is that it is often not known where the enterprise is located, usually in dark places, so it needs a more intense inspection and also with popular reports", he says.
Another point of illegal sand extraction in Seropédica (RJ). Photo: Luis Fernando Ramadon.
Another point of illegal sand extraction in Seropédica (RJ). Photo: Luis Fernando Ramadon. According to Flávio França Nunes da Rocha, the federal criminal expert, a member of the Environmental Skills Group (GPMA), there is still a great deal of informality in the area of mineral extraction and the lack of articulation and performance of the public agencies responsible for regulating and supervising. This way, the contribute to crime being strengthened.
"We hope that the newly created National Mining Agency (ANM), a claim of more than 20 years of the career staff of the former National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), will bring order to this, which is a fundamental sector for the economic development of Brazil, "he added, citing ANM, created through a Provisional Measure at the end of 2017.
