Sand pirates are driving global shortages in this vital construction material

Unchecked consumption risks environmental damage and global shortages.

A rapid increase in the demand for sand is driving shortages around the world.

Sand is essential in the construction world, used to make concrete, glass and other vital building materials. But demand is set to soar by 45 per cent in the next four decades, according to a new study, Qazet.az informs.

Leiden University in the Netherlands calculated that its use in the construction industry will jump from 3.2 billion tonnes a year in 2020 to 4.6 billion tonnes by 2060 - particularly in Africa and Asia.

This is due to projected population and economic growth as well as an increasing number of buildings being made from concrete and glass.

But unchecked consumption risks environmental damage and global shortages.

Is ‘building sand’ any different to the sand you find on beaches?

Much of the world’s sand cannot be used in construction. Desert sand is too smooth to be used as a binding agent for concrete and sea sand is too high in chloride levels for most construction purposes.

So most of the sand used for building is extracted from rivers, lakes and shorelines - regions with high environmental and human impacts.

Sand mining on the Pearl River (Zhujiang) in China has already lowered water tables. Water tables are the underground sections between the soil surface and the area where the groundwater is. This has made it harder to extract drinking water for locals and has damaged bridges and embankments.

And to make things even worse, sand pirates are on the rise.