WWF: Mekong Sand​ Running Out Due to Construction

• 29 November 2023
• Construction Focus
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A World Wildlife Foundation report has warned that sand in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam may run out by 2035 with catastrophic impacts on ecosystems due to a combination of huge demand in the country’s construction sector and the installation of hydroelectric dams.

The WWF report “Sand Budget for Vietnam Mekong Delta” tracked the use of sand in the region over the past three years. The Mekong Delta covers a vast area of 4 million hectares where 18 million people live. The incredibly diverse ecosystem also supports over 450 species of fish.

The diverse wetlands see 35-55 million cubic meters of sand extracted every year for the construction industry, despite exports being banned in 2017. Vietnam is undergoing a massive infrastructure advance and the four highway projects in the area will need 60 million tons of sand alone.

These totals however do not include significant volumes extracted by illegal sand mining or companies extracting more than they are licensed.

An immediate human cost is riverbank erosion across over 800 locations causing housing collapses into the river.

• Energy and Environment