Running out of sand

It’s hard to believe but the world is running out of sand. Our insatiable appetite for the substance that makes everything from skyscrapers to smartphones has led to environmental destruction in countries like Cambodia, where experts warn all the usable sand will have been dredged from the river Mekong within 10 years.

We are in the rapidly developing city of Phnom Penh to hear from the people whose lives and livelihoods have been threatened by the struggle for sand. Those who have fished the river for decades are finding that their nets are empty as the sand miners move in. People living alongside the Mekong have seen their houses crumble into the water as the riverbanks collapse. Meanwhile Cambodia’s capital is changing rapidly as the city’s lakes are filled in with sand to make more land for the construction boom. We examine the environmental impact and meet those left behind as the drive to develop Cambodia accelerates.

Presenter: Robin Markwell
With extra production by Andy Ball, University of Southampton

(Photo: Sand in Phnom Penh. Credit: Andy Ball)