Socium

Sand is a finite natural resource and crucial for maintaining environmental equilibrium. However, despite its strategic importance, it is being extracted at an unprecedented rate worldwide to meet the surging demand driven by population growth, rapid urbanization and increasing global infrastructure investments. This rampant extraction from diverse ecosystems is causing severe environmental repercussions leading to ecosystem degradation and the disruption of natural processes. The far-reaching impacts threaten biodiversity, destabilize landscapes and intensify global environmental challenges, including climate change and global warming. Rampant sand mining has emerged as a nationwide issue in India, leading to severe socio-economic and ecological repercussions. Despite existing regulatory mechanisms, the over-exploitation of this minor mineral continues at an alarming rate, including in Karnataka, where it has caused significant environmental damage.

To investigate the ecological impacts of sand mining, this study was conducted across four river basins in Karnataka known for intensive sand mining activities. Data was gathered through Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with various stakeholders, particularly farmers residing along the riverbanks. The study reveals that sand mining operations contribute to numerous adverse effects, including soil erosion, land degradation, altered water flow patterns, shrinking of traditional water bodies and grazing lands, and a decline in local biodiversity. Additionally, filtering activities prevalent in the river basins of southern Karnataka have inflicted irreversible damage on riverbeds, lakebeds, streams, channels, grazing lands, forests, government fallow lands, and native vegetation