Though it has some benefits such as providing income to the government and mining companies. However, its negative impact far outweighs the benefits whenever its effects are claiming lives.
It is a generally known fact that sand mining has both short-term and long-term effects. Gambians are already suffering from the short-term effects, and if this practise is not regulated now, it might cause the country more havoc in the near future, as it has done in other countries.
Generally, as populations grow and rates of urbanisation increase, the demand for sand needed in construction also increases. These high levels of demand have often led to the use of unsustainable sand extraction processes and illegal sand mining.
The machines and human disturbance induced by such processes can also adversely impact aquatic wildlife causing the turbidity to create a barrier that prevents sunlight from entering the water, which is harmful to corals that need sunlight.
Additionally, fish may also die-off due to a lack of food and oxygen in the turbid waters. Thus, the entire aquatic system may fail due to sand mining. The fishing industry that is dependent on such waters will also suffer great economic losses.
Moreover, beaches and sandbanks act as barriers to flooding. When sand mining removes such barriers, areas near the sea or river become more prone to flooding. As a result, beachside communities in areas subjected to indiscriminate sand mining are thus more vulnerable to the forces of nature.
In addition, mining destroys the aesthetic beauty of beaches and river banks, and also makes the ecological system in these areas unstable. If such beaches and riverside areas are popular tourist destinations, then the tourism potential of such areas will be lost.
Amongst the most disturbing impacts of sand mining is land degradation and erosion. This destroys the soil layer and structure, as well as the soil fertility, which will have a negative impact on agriculture, the backbone of the country.
Thus, the time is due for authorities to look into this. Licence issuing processes should be reviewed and care taken in the way they are issued. Authorities may also consider reviewing all the licences already issued. The government should also look for ways to revive areas that have been degraded due to sand mining to avert future disasters such as the one that recently happened in Gunjur.