Six billion tonnes of sand are extracted from world’s oceans each year

Parts of Diogue Diola village have been washed away by coastal erosion between the ocean shoreline and Casamance river in Diogue island, Senegal [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]

Almost six billion tonnes of sand and other sediment are extracted from the world’s seas and oceans every year on average, according to the United Nations.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned on Tuesday of the devastating toll on biodiversity and coastal communities, adding that the scale of dredging was growing, with dire consequences.