Cambodia permanently bans sand exports.

Following a temporary suspension of sand exports in November 2016, the Cambodian government has now decided to permanently ban sand exports.

A sand-carrying vessel in Cambodia - Photo: BBC

Meng Saktheara, spokesperson for Cambodia's Ministry of Minerals and Energy, said the permanent ban on sand exports was due to environmental concerns. BBC quoted Saktheara as saying: "The concerns of environmental organizations are justified because the risks (of sand mining) are very high, so the ministry decided to ban sand exports and large-scale dredging."

Environmental groups argue that sand mining in Cambodia is severely impacting coastal ecosystems.

Singapore is the largest buyer of Cambodia's exported sand. According to United Nations figures, Singapore has imported 72 million tons of sand from Cambodia since 2007. However, Cambodian government figures show that Singapore has only imported 16 million tons of sand from the country. Reuters reported that it is unclear why the two figures differ so significantly.

Singapore's purpose in importing sand is for land expansion. Reuters reported that Singapore previously mainly bought sand from Indonesia, but since 2007, due to environmental concerns, Indonesia abruptly stopped selling sand to Singapore. Since then, Singapore has had to find new sources of sand from countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, China, and Vietnam.

According to the BBC, since gaining independence in 1965, Singapore has expanded its land area by 20%, primarily using sand. However, in recent land expansion projects, Singapore has adopted new techniques that require less sand.

Previously, also due to environmental concerns, Malaysia had begun banning sand exports since 1997.

According to TTO