ILLEGAL SAND
MINING IN THE WORLD:
A BILLION DOLLAR
BUSINESS
Sara Lira
Dredging
activities near the shore of Poyang Lake in China. Photo: Lu Jian VCG.
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.
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.