Malé is one of the world’s most overcrowded cities, but it faces double pressure. As well as a growing population, the capital of the Maldives is also threatened by rising sea levels. Owing to climate breakdown, its living space is shrinking.
So the justification for a land reclamation project seemed clear. Take sand from elsewhere in the archipelago and use it to build up the land available for Malé’s people. What could go wrong? After all, it’s only sand, right?
Around the world, urban development and industry is using sand at a rate of 50bn tonnes a year, a figure that is expected to grow. But a new UN report warns that sand is being extracted faster than it can be replenished..
And, well, yes:
Sand and gravel resources are plentiful throughout the world. However, because of
environmental regulations, geographic distribution, and quality requirements for some uses, sand and gravel
extraction is uneconomical in some cases. The most important commercial sources of sand and gravel have been
glacial deposits, river channels, and river flood plains. Use of offshore deposits in the United States is mostly
restricted to beach erosion control and replenishment. Other countries routinely mine offshore deposits of aggregates
for onshore construction projects.
It is true that taking a specific bunch of sand from a specific place might not be all that good an idea. It could be worth more in place for example. But an overall and general shortage of sand? Jeebus, the stuff’s $10 a tonne in the US. That isn’t something in short supply.
If they dug up all the sand on the seabed, then the oceans wouldnt rise so much.
Thank you Otto. When do you think they’ll start??
Like all these things, they should have done it years ago. When their president was signing a treaty underwater, they could have given him a shovel then to get going.
What you have to be careful of, is not just digging a whopping huge trench, because then the sea will dip suddenly and boats will fall into it.
You have to do it in a slope, so the boats gradually sail down into it.
Instead of that, at the same time as they signed that bullshit they commissioned around twenty new airports, either because they didn’t really believe the carbonballs or because they thought they’d grow gills.
but instead they keep chucking sand into the sea, all those new islands off Dubai and half of the netherlands.
Then add in all the water thats not on the land anymore, emptied lakes, aquifers and the fens. The level is bound to go up.
Actually none of it makes very much difference, but then sea levels havent risen very much either…
Seeing as the Maldives is NOT threatened by rising sea levels we can call bullshit on everything in this report.Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.
When the ex and I visited the Maldives in 2002 they had one international airport. Now they have five, demonstrating just how seriously they believe in man made global warming…..
And as the Sahara desert is shrinking (greening) due to the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, perhaps there will be a shortage of sand (at some point).
Beat me to it. I have noticed that their bleating about climate reparations has diminished as the number of airports and five star resorts has risen.
Right. This is simply that lots of people want to holiday in these places, so they’re adding more land. Good plan. But sod all about eco.
The costs of aggregates are dominated by transport cost. While they are dirt (mostly sand) “cheap” to start with the further they need to be moved from source the more expensive they become. So it’s not a shortage: it’s classic supply and demand economics.
Yes…. But since when have Grauniad Journalists™ even acknowledged there’s such a thing as supply and demand, other than shouting “Unfair!!!” at it ?…….
“threatened by rising sea levels”
Usually someone then publishes photos showing that the threatened island has grown bigger over the last couple of decades. It’s interesting to learn there’s an exception.
Or is there? Google’s AI tells me “Yes, the Maldives are physically growing in total land area, despite rising sea levels.” Must be hallucinating I suppose.
They just make this stuff up, don’t they? Fictional journalism? They must be running courses in it. Wonder if they’ll start making awards for outstanding achievements?
Are you sitting comfortably children? Once upon a time…
There’s something about Indian Ocean islands and grifting cunts, isn’t there?
Though a recent Maldives government did nicely troll the UK by saying: Well, actually, the Chagos are the southernmost islands of the Maldives, and have been used as Maldivian fishing grounds for over a thousand years. We’re happy for you to call us.
Appeal to pity for a place that is not sympathetic.
You can’t hate journalists enough.
Remember this nonsense from 2009?
Coincidentally, the bar manager of the 180 Club when I was at RAF Gan was called Ibrahim Didi: he was a top bloke but I doubt he made it this far.
Sand from glacial deposits, riverbeds and flood plains are likely to be unsuitable for building so probably less than $10 / ton. What you need is sharp sand to bind to the concrete. As with everything – coal, oil, water – it comes free and the cost is transforming / transporting.
As far as I remember, sand from glacial deposits etc is sharp. Beach or desert sand gets rounded by constant wave or wind motion.
Just how do you replenish sand? Answer by eroding rocks over a geological era. So it is almost certainly true that they are using sand faster than they can replenish it; it is absolutely certain that we are using up sunlight faster than we are replenishing it.
Neither is a problem.
The Sun going nova will be a problem at some future date.
Well the sun light hitting the earth works out at 20MW for each human on this planet so we are wasting an awful lot more than we are using.
I heard decades ago that the lovely sand on Waikiki comes from Australia.
There’s a lovely beach in Shirahama, Japan that also comes from Australia
Some of the biggest importers of building sand are the deserty countries, because wind-blown sand is polished smooth and won’t make concrete or mortar. There’s a business opportunity there for somebody to invent a cementation process that will work with desert sand, or to super-cheaply process desert sand into sharp sand.
The only way you could do that is melt it to glass & then grind up the glass.
It’s not that it won’t make concrete or mortar. It’s that you don’t get the same structural strength. You could get away with it for bricklaying. But you wouldn’t want to use it for bridges.
The probable cause of any sea level rise in Malé is land sinking from the weight of buildings on it.
Malé is a joke. There is NO REASON why it couldn’t be relocated to southern India or Sri Lanka. They are fully, 100%, completely, totally dependent on fossil fuels for their existence.
Look at it on Google Earth:
4°10’25.53″ N 73°30’37.91″ E
Then ask: Where does their food come from? And how does it get there? It obviously isn’t grown there.
And how do all the tourists get there?
Guardain: you can’t hate journalists enough.