Global desertification is worsening, posing a severe threat to the world.
However, as humans, we are largely unaware of the significance of this issue and continue to extract sand recklessly.
Despite sand seeming limitless, it is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. It's imperative we give this issue enough attention.
"Even with all the sand, it won't support the world's industrial construction pace for 30 years!"
"Sand isn't like forests; can there truly be a shortage?"
"At present, the sand can only support about 10 years..." Different voices on the same news.
Who's lying?
The core contradiction in these views lies in one keyword— "sand."
Sand appears to be an inexhaustible natural resource with enormous production. However, today, the demand for sand on Earth is very high, with global demand ranking among the top.
Typically, construction sites are the most extensive users of sand.
Many people have seen trucks transporting sand on the streets. Workers are laboriously moving sand and dumping it at designated locations on the construction site for construction.
What other places need a lot of sand?
Typically, the silt of riverbeds is made up of sand deposits.
However, due to climate and geological factors, sand may become extremely scarce in a short period.
The smooth flow of river water directly affects water quality. Therefore, many countries and regions will send people to dredge the silt of rivers to make it flow smoothly.
This requires a lot of sand, so sand is particularly important in this field.
In addition, sand plays an important role in agricultural production, oil glass manufacturing, desertification control, etc.
It can be seen that sand has become a resource urgently needed by people.
In 1970, American geoscientists surveyed global desertification zones and found that the global desertification rate had risen sharply by 40% compared to 1945.
This is a worrying number. Experts further investigated and found that more than 10% of the world's land has been eroded by desertification.
The reason why the global desertification rate is so fast is partly because of the vast desertification areas in the world, which accelerate the desertification process.
Another reason is that the global production and construction change quickly, so it relies more on a large amount of sand than other countries.
Experts analyzed that the global annual demand for sand is about 6.85 billion cubic meters.
However, sand is a limited natural resource, and it is not creative in itself, and desertification is a slow and irreversible process.
Therefore, when collecting sand, it must be very careful to ensure the sustainable use of resources and not to collect too much at one time.
People worry that the high collection rate will lead to the exhaustion of sand.
Experts pointed out that the global collection rate has exceeded the natural recovery rate of sand.
Experts take the world as an example and analyze that there are currently 1.2 billion cubic meters of sand reserves worldwide.
However, the global collection volume exceeds 4.6 billion cubic meters annually, a figure significantly higher than the sand reserves.
Compared with last year, the collection volume increased by 66%.
Global demand for sand is still rising sharply.
Experts predict that at the current collection rate, global sand reserves may be exhausted in less than 10 years.
Sand has never given people a sense of scarcity, but when we see a shocking figure that more than 580,000 trucks of sand are collected globally every day, this data makes people doubt the reserves of sand.
As land resources become increasingly tense, sand becomes more important.
However, in reality, sand has no nationality.
A report from the United Nations Environment Programme pointed out that the scarcity of sand is a global issue.
This issue is not only about the global collection and demand for sand but also closely related to global desertification.
To address this issue, we must not only control the rate of sand collection but also take measures to restore and protect sand resources.
We need to strengthen management policies, encourage technological innovation, seek alternative materials, and reduce dependence on natural sand.
To achieve sustainable use of resources, we must recognize the scarcity of sand resources and take effective protection measures.
At the same time, to address desertification, we need to take decisive measures to restore lost land and improve the quality of the ecological environment.
The collection and use of sand issues are not just issues of resource management but also issues of environmental protection and sustainable development.
Only through scientific management and rational use can we ensure the long-term use of sand resources and leave a sustainable Earth for future generations.
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