UNEP Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) - Sand, rarer than one thinks

Publication Date: March 2014 

Sand and gravel are mined world-wide and account for the largest volume of solid material extracted globally. Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public.