Environmental effects of river sand mining: a case from the river catchments of Vembanad lake, Southwest coast of India

Padmalal, D.; Maya, K.; Sreebha, S; Sreeja, R.

doi:10.1007/s00254-007-0870-z

Cited by 196 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…It can change the riverbed itself (Kondolf, 1997). The removal of more than 12 million tonnes of sand a year from the Vembanad Lake catchment in India has led to the lowering of the riverbed by 7-15 cm a year (Padmalal et al, 2008). Incision can also cause the alluvial aquifer to drain to a lower level, resulting in a loss of aquifer storage (Kondolf, 1997).…”

Section: Impact On Inland Biodiversity and Riversmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sand mining has led to deepening and widening of the Lake Poyang channel and an increase in water discharge into the Yangtze River. This may have influenced the lowering of the lake's water levels, which reached a historically low level in 2008(De Leeuw et al, 2010.…”

Section: Coastal and Inland Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The erosion of coastal areas and beaches affects houses and infrastructure (Thornton et al, 2006;John, 2009). A decrease in bed load or channel shortening can cause downstream erosion including bank erosion and the undercutting or undermining of engineering structures such as bridges, side protection walls and structures for water supply (John, 2009;Padmalal et al, 2008).…”

Section: Economic Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sand, rarer than one thinks

Peduzzi¹

2014

Environmental Development

215

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Sand, rarer than one thinks Article reproduced from United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) $ Sand and gravel are mined world-wide and account for the largest volume of solid material extracted globally. Formed by erosive processes over thousands of years (John, 2009), they are now being extracted at a rate far greater than their renewal. Furthermore, the volume being extracted is having a major impact on rivers, deltas and coastal and marine ecosystems (Fig. 1), results in loss of land through river or coastal erosion, lowering of the water table and decreases in the amount of sediment supply. Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public.

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Section: Impact On Inland Biodiversity and Riversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coastal and Inland Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Economic Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sand, rarer than one thinks

Peduzzi¹

2014

Environmental Development

215

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“…Extraction of sand and gravel resources has a number of adverse environmental impacts (Sonak et al 2006;Kondolf 1994Kondolf , 1997, which were first reported in the developed world. As a result of the above-mentioned globalization of sand mining, concern about environmental impacts is increasingly reported from other countries: for example China (Wu et al 2007;Lu et al 2007), Ghana (Mensah 2002) and India (Padmalal et al 2008). Consequently, it has been argued that, because of this globalizing extent and the magnitude of its impacts, sand mining should be considered as an aspect of global environmental change (Sonak et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic assessment of the magnitude and impacts of sand mining in Poyang Lake, China

et al. 2009

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Planning for the extraction of aggregates is typically dealt with at a case to case basis, without assessing environmental impacts strategically. In this study we assess the impact of sand mining in Poyang Lake, where dredging began in 2001 after sand mining in the Yangtze River had been banned. In April 2008 concern over the impact on the biodiversity led to a ban on sand mining in Poyang Lake until further plans could be developed. Planning will require consideration of both sand extraction in relation to available sediment resources and also environmental impacts within the context of future demand for sand in the lower Yangtze Valley. We used pairs of near-infrared (NIR) Aster satellite imagery to estimate the number of vessels leaving the lake. Based on this we calculated a rate of sand extraction of 236 million m 3 year -1 in [2005][2006]. This corresponds to 9% of the total Chinese demand for sand. It qualifies Poyang Lake as probably the largest sand mining operation in the world. It also indicates that sand extraction currently dominates the sediment balance of the lower Yangtze River. A positive relation between demand for sand and GDP, revealed by historic data from the USA, suggests that the current per capita demand for sand in China might increase in the near future from 2 to 4 m 3 year -1 . We review various environmental impacts and question whether it will be possible to preserve the rich biodiversity of the lake, while continuing at the same time satisfying the increasing Chinese demand for sand. Finally we review alternative options for sand mining, in order to relieve the pressure from the Poyang Lake ecosystem.

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“…The water quality of the rivers are lowered due to increased short-term turbidity at the mining site caused by suspended sediments from stockpiling, organic particulate matter, and oil spills or leakage from excavation machinery and transportation vehicles. These concerns have also been reported in China [3,4]; Ghana [5]; Nigeria [6]; Malaysia [7] and India [8,9]. To mitigate this indiscriminate sand mining, initial environmental impact assessment (EIA) for resource extraction should be carried out followed by subsequent ones, as the growing demand renders the existing extraction capacity insufficient [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%