The ecosystem along the banks of the Mekong River is in serious trouble because industry is snatching up all the sand. Sand is a key component in many things that we use from glass to electronics and most of all, cement. The massive amounts of sand drawn from this and many other locations are destroying them.

Sand seems to be something we have a lot of, and we do! Whole deserts worth but not all sand is the same. The type found in deserts is too fine for most applications and instead the type found along beaches and shores is what is used.

Fifty billion tonnes are mined around the world every year. The Mekong river bed is lower than it was just from this type of extraction and it’s happening around the world. There are limits being put on the export of this type of sand but there is still a good deal of work that needs to be done around this conservation.