Category: Melilla

Sumary of Morocco: Illegal Sand Mining Threatens Coastline and Tourism:A well-developed illicit transnational industry with links to Spain is putting vulnerable coastal ecosystems at risk..Tourism is essential to Morocco's economy, and its beautiful beaches are a vital part of the attraction for visitors..In an ironic Catch-22 situation however, meeting the demands of this industry is indirectly destroying the very coastline that tourists are coming to enjoy..In Morocco, half of the sand used every year in the construction industry is illegally mined from the country's coast..Coastal sand along the western seaboard and Mediterranean is increasingly extracted, legally and illegally, by both registered companies and traffickers..The result is a series of lunar-like landscapes along Morocco's coastline, which damages fragile ecosystems and increases the vulnerability of infrastructure to storms and rising sea levels..In December 2020, Moroccan police arrested four people working for a construction firm involved in illegally removing beach sand near Casablanca and operating an unregistered cement unit..They point to a well-developed transnational enterprise that can only be stopped through dedicated government and construction industry efforts..These range from poor governance and corruption to criminality, environmental and biodiversity degradation, child labour, building safety and transnational commerce..The line between legal and illegal sand mining is often blurred and is facilitated by corruption allegedly involving state employees..Iberian companies in the Spanish enclave of Melilla (north-west of Morocco) use sand illegally extracted from the nearby Moroccan province of Nador..Without robust policy and regulations, this valuable commodity will continue to be stripped and sold illegally....Want to know more click here go to source.