Enough sand and still tight | Economy | '
Sand abounds, so it does not seem to be valuable to many. This impression is deceptive, because in some parts of the world, for example in Singapore and even in the desert state of Dubai, building sand is so scarce that despite its heavy weight it has to be imported. Because desert sand is not the same building sand.
Sand is needed for buildings and traffic routes, because a large part of our buildings is built with reinforced concrete. And concrete again consists of 80% rock and sand (plus water and cement). Roads also need rocks of various sizes: for example, one kilometer of motorway alone consumes 216,000 tons of sand, gravel and grit.
We need more and more sand and gravel
In the future, the demand for sand will continue to rise, because with a growing world population, the need to build roads, bridges, houses, airports and much more. The global construction boom has tripled demand for sand in 20 years, according to the United Nations Environment Program UNEP. There are no exact figures, but estimates suggest that between 30 and 50 billion tons of sand and gravel are consumed worldwide per year.
This would theoretically make it possible to build a wall 20 meters wide and 20 meters high around the equator – every year! So while we put more and more sand and gravel in our construction projects, nature needs millennia to create new sand.
There is enough sand on earth
"We have the good fortune in Germany that we have virtually infinite stocks of sand and gravel," says Harald Elsner of the Federal Institute for Geography and Raw Materials (BGR). He thinks that calculating the quantities is dubious, but he is sure they would last for millennia. So in Germany, we would not have to worry that there would not be enough building sand and gravel, according to Elsner.
On 90 percent of the surface of the earth there is no shortage of sand, says Elsner. "We have problems in some areas in Africa and in Asia," says the raw materials expert from BGR. Little is known about the situation in China, the alleged largest consumer of sand and gravel, "but so far we have not heard that there are problems". His conclusion: "Sand and gravel are in demand in infinite quantities, but it is also the raw material that is most abundant in the world."
Sand and gravel quarrying in Colombia.
Nevertheless, he is in short supply in Germany
There is no shortage in Germany, but sand and gravel are scarce and the consequences are already visible. "You do not get sand and gravel for building measures as you used to, but there are now waiting times of up to three weeks until enough material is available," says Elsner.
Of course, demand overhang also affects prices. Elsner expects price increases of five to ten percent per year for sand and gravel. But why is not more mined in Germany, when there are so many deposits?
More than 99 percent of the sand and gravel areas are simply used differently, explains Elser. In water or landscape preservation areas, you can not mine any sand or gravel as well as where there is already infrastructure.
Low interest rates and permits
In addition, the low interest rates of many a potential gravel pit in the way. Many farmers find it economically more economical not to sell their land to gravel pit operators. They rather hope that the value of the land will increase, as they can not expect a high return with an alternative investment on the capital market.
Not every farmer is willing to sell his land for sand and gravel quarrying
Raimo Benger, Managing Director of the Building Materials Association Vero also complains: "We have no material shortage, but a permit shortage." It simply would not grant sufficient permits for gravel and sand works. Environmental law often stands in the way of entrepreneurs. For example, Europe states that rare species need to be protected. However, it would not always be examined on a case-by-case basis whether economic activity was not compatible with species conservation, says Benger.
Can gravel pits even promote species protection?
The industry association emphasizes again and again that even during the sand and gravel quarrying, but also in the later renatured gravel pit habitat for rare species would arise. That sounds nice at first. However, Christian Chwallek from the Nabu NRW Nature Conservation Association points out that gravel excavations give completely different species a new habitat – including rare species. "But other equally endangered species are losing their habitat, as major types of retreat areas are lost to the species of the agricultural landscape," explains the conservationist.
In addition, the gravel excavations are much larger in comparison to the past. This would create up to 100 hectares of gravel and quarry lakes. Not only animals are affected by the sand and gravel extraction, adds Chwallek, also the human being can feel the consequences of these large mining areas. "These are literally open wounds for the drinking water reservoirs because the protective rock strata are being dug up." Along the Rhine track we have large drinking water reservoirs that are protected by the gravel deposits and naturally cleaned. " These areas would need to be more protected, demands Chwallek.
Also in the Rhine, sand and gravel are mined
We would consume our sand budget faster than we can produce it responsibly, said Joyce Msuya, Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), not only in Germany. The reduction must therefore be better regulated so that infrastructure and nature can go hand in hand. Especially because the annual demand for sand and gravel worldwide will increase by 5.5 percent per year, according to a recent study by the United Nations.
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