Abstract

Sand is a vital ingredient for modern structures and to meet demand, a substantial volume of sand is extracted illegally from riverbeds globally. The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is one of the largest delta in Asia and it has a long history of riverbed sand mining. We quantified the illegal sand mining rate in this major sand mining hotspot, as the difference between the actual volume of sand mined and the allowable rate of sand extraction set by the provincial government. The volume of illegally mined sand decreased from 16.7 Mm3/yr in 2013 to 15.5 Mm3/yr in 2018-2020. An increase in the allowable rate of sand extraction from 11.5 Mm3/yr to 15.1 Mm3/yr reduced the volume of illegally mined sand. We recommend that scientific research should be conducted to assess the allowable rates of sand extraction and the volume of sand reserve.

Sand mining intensified in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta between 2013 and 2018–2020 with an increase in the allowable rate of sand extraction leading to reductions in the volume of illegally mined sand, according to an analysis of field measurements and government data.

Details

Title
Extent of illegal sand mining in the Mekong Delta
Author
Yuen, Kai Wan 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Park, Edward 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Tran, Dung Duc 2 ; Loc, Ho Huu 3 ; Feng, Lian 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wang, Jingyu 5 ; Gruel, Charles-Robin 6 ; Switzer, Adam D. 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) and Asian School of the Environment (ASE), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.59025.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2224 0361); Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.59025.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2224 0361) 
2  Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.59025.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2224 0361); Vietnam National University, Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), Institute for Environment and Water Resources (IER), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (GRID:grid.444808.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 2037 434X) 
3  Wageningen University and Research, Water Systems and Global Change Group (WSG), Wageningen, Netherlands (GRID:grid.4818.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 0791 5666) 
4  Southern University of Science and Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shenzhen, China (GRID:grid.263817.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1773 1790) 
5  Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.59025.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2224 0361) 
6  Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) and Asian School of the Environment (ASE), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.59025.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2224 0361); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, France (GRID:grid.4444.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2259 7504) 
7  Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) and Asian School of the Environment (ASE), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.59025.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2224 0361) 
Pages
31
Publication year
2024
Publication date
Dec 2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
26624435
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01161-1
ProQuest document ID
2912906423
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.