The Hidden Cost of Sand: Why Our Modern World is Running Out

When we think about the materials that build our modern world, we often think of steel, glass, or concrete. Yet, there is one ingredient that is more important than all of these: sand. It is the most extracted solid material on Earth. Every year, humans use about 50 billion tonnes of sand to build homes, roads, and large buildings. It is also a key part of making windows, computer chips, and solar panels. However, a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that we are using sand much faster than nature can replace it. This is creating a global crisis that threatens both our environment and our future.

For many countries, sand is seen as a simple solution to urgent problems. In the Maldives, for example, the capital city of Malé is very crowded and faces the risk of rising sea levels caused by climate change. To create more space for people, the government has used land reclamation projects. This process involves taking sand from the ocean floor to build up new land. According to The Guardian, this seemed like a logical plan at first. However, the environmental cost has been very high.

In 2019, the Maldives government hired a company to fill in a lagoon near Malé. This project required a massive amount of sand to be taken from the sea. An environmental study later found that the damage caused by this project could not be fixed. The project destroyed 200 hectares of coral reefs and important ocean habitats. The UN report noted that about half of all dredging companies—businesses that remove sand from the bottom of the sea—are operating in protected areas. This destruction harms fish, turtles, and birds, which are vital for local ecosystems and tourism.

This problem is not limited to the Maldives. In the Philippines, a large airport project required the removal of 155 million cubic metres of sand from Manila Bay. The result was devastating for local fishing communities. Once the sea floor was scraped away, the fish did not return, leaving many people without their main source of income. Similarly, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, dredging sand for a city project caused fishing incomes to drop by 80 percent. These stories show that while sand is an "unrecognised hero" of development, its removal often comes at a terrible price for those who live near the coast.

Pascal Peduzzi, the director of the UNEP global resource information database, explained that sand plays a critical role in protecting our planet. It acts as a natural shield against rising sea levels, storm surges, and the salt that can ruin fresh water in coastal areas. When we remove sand, we make these climate-related hazards much worse. There is a difficult competition between using sand for construction and leaving it in place to protect the environment. As Peduzzi noted, the role of sand in supporting the natural services we depend on is often ignored.

So, what can be done? The UN report suggests that we need a complete change in how we manage sand extraction. Currently, there is a lack of transparency, meaning that many projects go forward without enough public oversight or care for the environment. Planners need better data and mapping to identify areas that are too important to touch. They must also follow environmental rules much more strictly than they do today.

As the world continues to grow, the demand for sand will likely increase. We are at a point where we must decide if we can continue with the current pace of development or if we need to find a more sustainable way forward. The Maldives, where over 80 percent of the land is less than one metre above sea level, is a clear example of how vulnerable we are. If we continue to destroy the very things that protect our coasts, we may find that the cost of our modern buildings is far higher than we ever imagined.