 |
Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
 |
|
Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
|
 |
CSI papers 1
Beach Sand Mining in St. Vincent and the Grenadines after the Landmark Decision of 1994
Maxwell Porter,
Seismic Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Trade & Industry,
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Abstract
Traditionally, beaches and the Rabacca Dry River have provided the principal source of construction sand in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This has resulted in severe beach erosion, flooding of coastal areas, loss of dunes and other habitats. Following a regional study, it was decided to import sand into St. Vincent from Guyana for use in the construction industry. This would result in increased construction costs, since beach sand had been considered a 'free good'. A decision was announced in December 1994 that imported sand would be used for all Government construction projects starting 1st January 1995 and that controls would be instituted on beach sand mining, although no date was set for this action. This announcement resulted in a massive stockpiling of sand, in a two month period the volume of sand mined from the beaches was 2.5 times the annual volume. This caused serious erosion which was accentuated by Tropical Storm Iris in August 1995. It is concluded that the populace may not be prepared to pay the price of imported sand and that short term gain outweighs long term national benefit.
