Does intense sand mining have a harmful impact on the ecosystem?

Sand being in high demand in the construction centers, more and more companies are engaging in this illegal trade. However, this is turning to be one of the biggest ecological disasters in the state. Sand Mining in West Bengal is also a rising terror, affecting the natural ecosystem in colossal amounts. The high levels of urbanization have led to unsustainable sand extraction, leaving back harmful impacts on the natural habitat.


Here are some of the negative effects of this procedure-


1. Causes rapid soil erosion : When a large quantity of unregulated mining of sand takes place along the beaches and riversides, the natural balance is hampered. The beaches and the rivers have thus started to retreat from excess erosion. When too much sediment is removed from these places, the river beds begin to shrink. Deltas recede because of this mining. All of these culminate in the loss of fertile lands. The ground also destabilizes, resulting in the failure of bridges, roads etc


2. Harmful to the local wildlife : The location of the beaches is just at the intersection of the land and the ocean. These beaches are home to various kind of species and living habitats like crabs, snails, turtles etc. When a large quantity of sand is mined, the wildlife surviving on the beaches are disturbed. Turtles usually lay their eggs after digging their nest on the beach sand. This is done so that the little eggs are protected from all the harmful predators. When the hatching emerge from these eggs, they run across the beach and then enter into the wild ocean waters. Lack of sand will mean a huge lack of nesting area for the turtles. This is how sand mining is responsible for destroying natural wildlife. 


This can also be noticed in the case of gharials, the fish eating crocodiles. Unfortunately, disproportionate mining of sand in West Bengal has endangered the habitat of these crocodiles. 


3.  Makes the area more flood-prone : Extracting huge amounts of sand blocks in West Bengal has made the region more prone to flooding. Sandbanks used to act as barriers for the flood. Indiscriminate sand mining is therefore very vulnerable to the natural forces. 


4. Affects the aquatic ecosystem : The ill effects of sand mining are not just confined to the beach side. The complete removal of green vegetation and the destruction of the soil profile destroys the habitat both above and below the land. They also have an impact on the underwater ecosystem. Sand mining can result in turbidity in the water. The use of machines and the disturbance caused by humans also have a negative effect on aquatic wildlife. The turbidity caused in the water creates a kind of barrier that prevents the sunlight from entering the water. This is turn becomes harmful to the corals who require sunlight in order to thrive. Fishes also die when the turbid waters cut off their oxygen supply. This is how the fishing industry suffers a huge loss.             


In stream mining also has several other costly effects which go beyond the immediate mining site. Large hectares of stream side land is annually lost due to this including valuable timber resources, and wildlife in the riparian areas. Stream habitats that are degraded slowly progress towards the loss of fisheries productivity, biodiversity with minimal chances/potential for recreation. Severely degraded channels lower the aesthetic values of the land. 


“Abhinaa Group” uses environment-friendly means to provide sand to several industrial sectors without harming the natural ecosystem.