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A global sand crisis looms — here’s how to dodge it

The right strategies could help to reduce sand mining and the associated environmental destruction.
Laborers and machines work inside the Kuakhai river digging sand to transport to the area construction sites in India.

Sand for construction is collected from a river bed in India, where estimated demand for the material will more than double by 2060. Credit: NurPhoto via Getty

Global use of sand for building will surge by 45% by 2060, even if population and economic growth are moderate, according to new modelling1. But the analysis suggests that there’s hope: if countries cooperate, building-sand demand in 2060 could be 30% of projected levels.

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Nature 604, 10 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00876-z

References

  1. Zhong, X. Deetman, S. Tukker, A. & Behrens, P. Nature Sust. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00857-0 (2022).

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