Scientists say the release of methane is starting in the Arctic Ocean. How interested should we be?

The beach, however, is far from clean, environmentalists say.

“It’s an illusion,” said Lia Mai Torres, executive director of the Center for Environmental Concerns Philippines. “Just because it’s white doesn’t mean it’s clean.”

The white sand is actually crushed dolomite from a mine in Cebu, central Philippines.

Using sand made from Dolomite rock in such a project is very rare, experts say. The vast majority of sandy beaches around the world are made up of quartz and feldspar, while dolomite sand is commonly used in road construction.

“I have never encountered any nourishment on the beach with dolomite sand,” said Arnaud Vander Velpen, who is the head of monitoring and innovation at the UNEP / GRID Department for Sand Monitoring and Governance in Geneva.

Sand Makeup Crucial for Ecosystems

Although UNEP / GRID-Geneva generally supports the search for alternative sources of sand in order not to disturb ecosystems in rivers and oceans during extraction, Vander Velpen stressed that it is crucial to use sand that is very close to the composition of the native sand to protect the fauna of the beach.

“If you change the main characteristics of the native sand, the original sand, you need to do an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to find out how it will affect the ecosystem and neighboring ecosystems,” he told DW.

But according to Torres, that assessment was not made in Manila.

Landscaping stunt instead of proper cleaning?

The waters of Manila Bay are heavily polluted with oil and waste from residential areas and neighboring ports. A huge “No Swim” sign warns visitors to stay away from the ocean.

Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) denied that dolomite sand poses a risk to human health and the ecosystem.

However, scientists from the University of the Philippines have come forward contesting the claims of the DENR. TO statement from the Institute of Biology he stated that the use of crushed dolomite had not faced any of the rehabilitation phases and instead was “even more damaging to the existing biodiversity and to the communities in the area”, pointing to the case of waterfowl. “The dolomite discharge in Manila Bay has effectively covered part of the intertidal area used by the birds, thereby reducing their habitat.”

During the peak migratory season, Manila Bay is home to 90 species of waterfowl, including species of international conservation concern that are facing very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Authorities should focus on protecting and conserving biodiversity, the Institute of Biology added. “The mangrove rehabilitation is an example of a nature-based solution that is cheaper and more cost-effective than the dolomites discharge project,” the scientists said.

Moreover, the Marine Science Institute warned that prolonged inhalation of finer dolomite dust particles could “cause chronic health effects,” leading to chest discomfort, shortness of breath and cough.

They also warned that dolomite sand grains would erode during storms and be carried out to sea, essentially being swept away.

Rehabilitation vs Remediation

Environmentalists say covering the beach doesn’t address the bay’s real problems. Torres and others believe the best way to clean up Manila Bay is not to add anything, but rather to remove waste and pollution.

“Some studies claim that most of the waste comes from waste that has already been collected, so these are open landfills along the coast that are washed up due to rain,” Torres said.

She criticized the authorities for continuing to promote reclamation projects which she believes are at odds with each other. These projects will affect large areas of mangrove forests, he said, and experts warn that this, in turn, exacerbates coastal erosion.

“If you have removed the areas that have helped trap the sand, such as mangrove forests, then the likelihood that you have to feed a beach increases. Like building up to the waterfront,” said Vander Velpen of UNEP / GRID-Geneva.

Lots of sand in the sea?

The controversial Manila White Beach issue echoes larger questions about sand mining around the world. Global sand consumption has tripled in the past two decades, UNEP / GRID-Geneva has found. A huge part of it is now absorbed by construction.

“Many are based on the assumption that natural sand is infinite in its offer,” said Vander Velpen.

Sand scarcity is a concern shared by Stefan Schimmels of Forschungszentrum Küste , which has done a lot of research on coastal nourishment to stop coastal erosion. And as climate change and rising sea levels threaten coasts, the demand for sand will grow even more.

A large study, the Strategies and tools for environmentally friendly coastal nutrition as low-regret measures of the impact on climate change (STENCIL project) , centered on the German island of Sylt, a popular holiday resort.

About 1 million cubic meters of sand per year is used to maintain the coastal area of ​​Sylt, said Schimmels, head of the STENCIL project. That’s about 100 million 10-liter buckets of sand.

When the sand was mined off the coast of Sylt, underwater craters formed. “You can still detect these craters even decades later,” Schimmels told DW.

“Also, when you add a couple of feet of sand to the beach, you essentially bury all the things that crawl and fly,” he said. “How quickly will they recover?” Schimmels said more research is needed as too little is known about the long-term effects on the environment.

The criticisms pile up

As for Manila’s artificial white sand, it looks like some have already been washed away by a recent storm. DENR says it was not washed off, but said greyish sand, stones and other material had simply accumulated on the dolomite sand. People in Manila tweeted photos showing how the storm devastated the beach.

Authorities have been called deaf for spending around 389 million pesos ($ 8 million) on a beach nourishment project in the midst of a furious pandemic.

A frosted cake image with the words “It really hurts – this is it [worth] 389 million pesos? “It has since gone viral.

“It’s just a waste of valuable resources,” Torres said.

The environmental activist now also fears being labeled a terrorist for speaking under the new controversial anti-terrorism law of the Philippines . She says she could be arrested for inciting fear when talking about environmental dangers.

Reprinted with permission from Deutsche Welle .