Illegal sand mining poses serious threat to marine national park in Arakan State

By Admin 19 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
19 September 2023, Rathedaung

The shoreline is under threat and gradually receding due to unregulated sand mining involving seagoing vessels on Nanthar Island, site of a marine national park in Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, according to Ko Yan Naung Soe, chairman of the Rakhine Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association.

Vessels extract sand from the island every day and the shore is eroding away as the number of people who catch prawn is on the rise.

Ko Yannaung Soe said that the relevant authorities should take effective measures to prevent Nanthar Island from disappearing.

“As far as we know, some vessels extract sand from Nanthar Island in order to sell it in Rathedaung and Sittwe.  If the sand continues to be extracted like this, the entire beach will collapse. If people continue to extract sand using vessels, this beach will not even exist in the next three years,” he added.

Nanthar Island, located between mainland Sittwe and Rathedaung townships in Arakan State, was designated as a marine national park by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation on February 21, 2022. The marine national park is home to about 80 rare bird species, some of which are on the verge of extinction, as well as rare turtles, fish, shrimp and crabs.

Residents are worried that if illegal sand extraction from Nanthar Island is not stopped in time, the beach will disappear and face further natural disasters.

“If people continue to extract sand like this, this island will be completely destroyed. Now the beach is damaged. If this island cannot be preserved, the local people of the villages on this island will suffer natural disasters and the unthinkable will happen,” said U Nga Lone, a local man from Aungtaing Village in Sittwe Township.

DMG was unable to contact U Than Tun, Arakan State Minister of Natural Resources, for comment on the matter.