Local perspectives, regional consequences: The socio-environmental impacts of sand harvesting in southern Africa

After water, sand is the most exploited resource on Earth, with extraction rates often exceeding the sustainable supply, impacting ecosystems and local communities. Still, there is very little information on the situation in southern Africa, despite the rapid economic growth in the region and associated increase in sand demand. This study aimed to address this gap by identifying the implications of sand extraction on local communities and the ecosystem, drawing upon the perspectives of local stakeholders. Qualitative data collected in Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique through stakeholder interviews, revealed a suite of environmental and social issues surrounding both licensed and unlicensed operations. The experienced negative impacts and benefits were occasionally contradictory in nature, strongly depending on characteristics relating to geography, and the type of sand harvesting activity. We subsequently explored links between experienced benefits, impacts and current regulatory frameworks through development of a Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, which highlighted that careful mining site selection and adherence to regulations could minimise socio-environmental impacts whilst achieving benefits. The findings of the study provided insights on the main obstacles for alleviating sand harvesting-related impacts and existing knowledge gaps that need to be first addressed to inform the development of more sustainable sand harvesting practices.