also mined to extract rutile, ilmenite and zircon containing essential elements
titanium and zirconium which normally occur combined with ordinary sand and
have to be separated in water by virtue of their different densities, before the sand is
redeposited.
In considering remedial legal measure on sand mining, it is worth noting that land
which was originally used for grazing and cultivation has been reduced to pits and
ponds that are a threat to humans and cattle, apart from being unsuitable for
cultivation. According to statistics from the lands ministry, over 2000 housing
units are set up annually. The construction industry constitutes over twelve percent
of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has witnessed significant surge in
the last twenty years. In spite of upsurge in inflation, the sector has remained on a
steady path of growth and development. It is this sector, in addition to industrial
sector—for example the industrial subsector involved in glass-making—that has
contributed significantly to the development of the sand economy with all its
attendant effects including on farmlands. It is therefore against the above background that the legal regime is examined.
4 Effects of Sand Mining
Sand mining has got a number of advantages: providing an essential raw material for
infrastructural development for example road and housing works, providing raw
materials for industrial products such as glass-making, serving as a source of
employment for sand miners among other economic advantages. The advantages
need to be contextualized against its negative effects so as to provide a basis for a
strategic approach for dealing with it.
Sustainable development is one of the fundamental principles of natural resources
management in Uganda; economic output needs to be considered with environmental implication.
This is even more apposite considering the fact that the costs of natural resource
degradation in the country stands at no less than seventeenth percent of GDP per
year.
13
Commercial excavation of sand is lucrative because of the purposes sand serves
in different aspects of the economy including construction as earlier pointed out.
Silica sand, quartz (a hard white mineral consisting of silicon dioxide) that overtime,
through the work of water and wind, has been broken down into tiny granules is one
of the most common types and has many utilities including making glass. Despite
these advantages, sand mining activities have had adverse impacts and caused
negative effects on the environment in a number of places such as Lwera wetland
13 NEMA (2016).
104
T. Sanni
titanium and zirconium which normally occur combined with ordinary sand and
have to be separated in water by virtue of their different densities, before the sand is
redeposited.
In considering remedial legal measure on sand mining, it is worth noting that land
which was originally used for grazing and cultivation has been reduced to pits and
ponds that are a threat to humans and cattle, apart from being unsuitable for
cultivation. According to statistics from the lands ministry, over 2000 housing
units are set up annually. The construction industry constitutes over twelve percent
of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has witnessed significant surge in
the last twenty years. In spite of upsurge in inflation, the sector has remained on a
steady path of growth and development. It is this sector, in addition to industrial
sector—for example the industrial subsector involved in glass-making—that has
contributed significantly to the development of the sand economy with all its
attendant effects including on farmlands. It is therefore against the above background that the legal regime is examined.
4 Effects of Sand Mining
Sand mining has got a number of advantages: providing an essential raw material for
infrastructural development for example road and housing works, providing raw
materials for industrial products such as glass-making, serving as a source of
employment for sand miners among other economic advantages. The advantages
need to be contextualized against its negative effects so as to provide a basis for a
strategic approach for dealing with it.
Sustainable development is one of the fundamental principles of natural resources
management in Uganda; economic output needs to be considered with environmental implication.
This is even more apposite considering the fact that the costs of natural resource
degradation in the country stands at no less than seventeenth percent of GDP per
year.
13
Commercial excavation of sand is lucrative because of the purposes sand serves
in different aspects of the economy including construction as earlier pointed out.
Silica sand, quartz (a hard white mineral consisting of silicon dioxide) that overtime,
through the work of water and wind, has been broken down into tiny granules is one
of the most common types and has many utilities including making glass. Despite
these advantages, sand mining activities have had adverse impacts and caused
negative effects on the environment in a number of places such as Lwera wetland
13 NEMA (2016).
104
T. Sanni