Constructions along Mekong riverbank at risk of collapsing due to excessive sand mining

• 20 January 2020
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Geo-environmental researchers have recently revealed that Mekong riverbanks, especially in Cambodia, are prone to collapsing due to the excessive sand mining driven by the high demand for sand in the construction sector.

According to the report by The Science Times, the research team from the University of Southampton discovered that sand mining is the leading cause of the Mekong riverbanks instability, which leads to the collapse and damage to infrastructure.

The same report also mentioned that among all the countries with Mekong riverbanks, Cambodia is one of the world’s major sand-bedded rivers with plenty of sand mining activities.

Through Sonar—a technique using sound propagation to detect objects under the surface of the water— the researchers identified that there are many big holes in the Mekong riverbed across different countries, which on average, are approximately 42 metres long and 8 metres deep. These big holes are assumed to be created by unsustainable sand mining.

Interestingly, the researchers also uncovered the volume of current sand extraction is between 5 and 9 times more than the rate in which the sand is replenished by the river’s natural processes, which can lead to a high risk of riverbank collapsing.

Through Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), Dr Julian Leyland also confirmed that lowering the riverbed by only about two metres can cause many riverbanks to collapse. However, the current sand mining is recorded as more than 8 metres deep. According to him, this is significantly risky.

“It is clear that excessive sand mining is responsible for increased rates of bank erosion that local communities have been reporting for years,” said Dr Leyland in The Science Times.

Sand is the second most-consumed resource on the planet after water. Due to the boom of the construction sector, the production of concrete has increased exponentially, which increases the demand for sand, which is mainly extracted from the Mekong riverbed.

Therefore, the scientists suggest that the governments of Mekong countries urgently come up with the proper policies or regulations to balance and control the excessive sand minding, to avoid the catastrophes caused by riverbank collapsing.

 

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