Sand Mining and the laws
Sand is an essential need for the construction sector which is rapidly growing day by day. On the other hand, sand mining is an issue that has negative effects on the aquatic ecosystem and livelihood. This mines and minerals sector is well connected, environmentally, ecologically, biologically, and sociologically. Hence, the substantial issues of sand mining need to be eradicated or controlled. It is eroding river deltas, damaging coastlines, lowering groundwater levels, hurt marine life, causes landslides, drought, flooding, degrade sediment in rivers and coastal areas in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the requirement of providing sand for construction and protecting the environment should be well regulated and balanced by law to establish sustainable development.
Mining issue is specially regulated under and the Minerals Act No.33 of 1992 as amended by Act No.66 of 2009. Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) established under this Act. GSMB issues three types of licenses; exploration, mining, trading, and transport to regulate the exploration for mining, transportation, processing, trading, and export of Minerals. Also, the conservation of coastal areas is regulated by Coast Conservation Department (CCD) under Coast Conservation Act No.57 of 1981 as amended by No.49 of 2011. The function of CCD’s authority on sand mining extends upstream up to 2km of the river system from the coast. Therefore, CCD has the authority to issue the licenses for the sand of sea and sand of rivers within this area. This license system normally regulates the unauthorized and uncontrolled sand mining and quantity of mining.
Monitoring a transportation license is a legal requirement under the Mines and Minerals Act. Illegal mining activities have been controlled by this permit. Even though the law cannot be suppressed blatantly by a Cabinet Decision without a proper amendment to the Act, this permit system was taken away recently by a Cabinet Decision and Circular No.173/12/2019. As a result, illicit sand mining became legitimate for a short time. This has led the environment to become vulnerable to many issues. Undue political interferences, lack of officers to enforce the law all over the country, transparency, and accountability are some other related issues that are not well addressed by statutory laws. Therefore, it is clear that these Acts are not well regulated or 100% adequate for the threat of current issues of sand mining.
In instances where statutory regulations do not work accordingly, Public Interest Litigations plays a vital role in protecting the environment. To maintain sustainable development, the responsible authorities need to act with accountability, transparency and follow the enacted laws and regulations accordingly while regulating them if they are insufficient to take away negative effects to protect the environment. They should also consider opinions from experts before taking decisions in relation to sensitive environmental issues such as sand mining because the legal protection of the environment is inevitable to save it for future generations.
0 Comments