Vad händer om sanden skulle ta slut?
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Sanden är grunden till vår moderna civilisation. Det är materialet som vi sällan tänker på, men som är helt avgörande för urbaniseringen. Men sanden är ingen oändlig resurs, på sina platser har den redan börjat ta slut.
Utvinningen leder till förödande miljöförstörelse och sociala konflikter.
Sandmaffior som med våld och korruption underminerar rättssäkerheten breder ut sig i flera länder. Vad händer om sanden skulle ta slut?
Programledare och producent: Erik Petersson och Jennifer Sjöblom
Medverkande
Vince Beiser - journalist och författare och har skrivit boken The World in a Grain
Per J Andersson - journalist och författare till boken Sand - jakten på råvaran som formar vår värld
Jean-Baptiste Jouffray - forskare på Stockholm resilience center och Stanfords universitet
Pascal Peduzzi - föreståndare på GRID Geneve
Ilangovan Rajasekaran - journalist på The Hindu
Andra vi har varit i kontakt med
Mattias Göransson - statsgeolog på SGU
Luís Fernando Ramadon - fd federal polis i Rio de Janiero, expert på illegal sandutvinnign
Böcker och tryckta källor
Sand - jakten på råvaran som formar vår värld, av Per J Andersson
The World in a Grain, av Vince Beiser
Klipp
TV band Rio: Ecko, Zinho, Faustão: entenda como funciona a milícia carioca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AeZGUBENoQ
Brasil Urgente: Zinho preso: Saiba quem é o chefe da maior milícia do RJ I Brasil Urgente https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKKSTpJwCm4&t=3s
NDTV: Gangsters Set Fire To 35 Buses In Brazil After Crime Boss Killed By Police
UGreen: O Negócio Bilionário da MÁFIA DA AREIA no Brasil e como Rios, Dunas e Cidades Pagam a Conta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZX833CAMJY
TV Brasil: RJ | Milícias que atuam na extração ilegal de areia são alvo de operação
Sjungande sand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Qs-0AI9MA&t=16s & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Qs-0AI9MA&t=16s
Källor i urval
Dokumentären Sand Wars
Dokumentären Lost World
NRP: Planet Money: Peak Sand https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/07/13/628894815/episode-853-peak-sand
Reuters: Devoured: How China’s largest freshwater lake was decimated by sand mining https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/SAND-POYANG/qzjpqxxabvx/
Studie: Rethinking sand as earth material for a sustainable construction in Egypt
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2025.1566515/full
Studie: Quantifying the informal sand market and its consequences: The case of Brazil
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211464524000708
Nesta: Against the grain: building a future safe from sand crime
https://www.nesta.org.uk/feature/future-signals-2026/sand-crime/
Beneath the sands: ‘We can’t run away’ https://www.beneaththesands.earth/we-cant-run-away
GlobalGeneva: Sand: The Hidden Crisis - And New Gold - At Our Feet
https://www.global-geneva.com/development/science/sand-the-hidden-crisis-at-our-feet
The Times of India: Sand Mafia’s Chilling Death Threat Jolts Ghat Owners, Who’s sleeping? https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/sand-mafias-chilling-death-threat-jolts-ghat-owners-whos-sleeping/articleshow/130564031.cms#
Forbidden Stories: Sand mafias silence journalists in India
Studie: Abundant resources in an era of scarcity: Systemic aspects of the Global sand and gravel crisis https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344925005087
UNEP: The problem with our dwindling sand reserves
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/problem-our-dwindling-sand-reserves
Reporters without borders: India: Uttar Pradesh reporter gunned down for covering sand mafia
https://rsf.org/en/india-uttar-pradesh-reporter-gunned-down-covering-sand-mafia
Dagens arena: Vårt samhälle är ett enda stort sandslott
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/07/13/628894815/episode-853-peak-sand
Studie: Abundant resources in an era of scarcity: Systemic aspects of the Global sand and gravel crisis https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/abundant-resources-in-an-era-of-scarcity-systemic-aspects-of-the/
Studie: The environmental impacts of river sand mining
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722029746
Sandstories: The global estimated value of illegal sand extraction: Guest post by Luis Fernando Ramadon
https://www.sandstories.org/stories/estimated-annual-value-illegal-sand-extraction-lfr
Forbidden stories: Sand mafias silence journalists in India
https://forbiddenstories.org/sand-mafias-silence-journalists-in-india/#:~:text=Burnt%20alive,over%2050%25%20of%20his%20body.
Svt: Bristen på laglig sand har skapat en sandmaffia https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/bristen-pa-laglig-sand-har-skapat-en-sandmaffia
Scientific American: Inside the crime rings trafficking sand
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sand-mafias-are-plundering-the-earth/
Le monde: India's 'sand mafias have power, money and weapons'
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2022/09/12/in-india-sand-mafias-have-power-money-and-weapons_5996639_114.html
In sight Crime: The Mafias Behind Sand Trafficking in Latin America
https://insightcrime.org/news/the-mafias-behind-sand-trafficking-in-latin-america/
Stockholm Resilience Center: Finding sand solutions for desirable futures
https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-stories/2026-02-19-finding-sand-solutions-for-desirable-futures.html
BBC: How the scramble for sand is destroying the Mekong
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50629100
UNEP: Rapporten Sand And Sustainability
https://wedocs.unep.org/items/b037d0d7-b899-4969-9b9a-b5c36dd32abe
Sveriges Geologiska undersökning: Grus, sand och krossberg 2024: https://resource.sgu.se/dokument/publikation/pp/pp202503rapport/pp2025-3-rapport.pdf
Rapport: Reportrar utan gränser: https://rsf.org/en/almost-half-28-journalists-killed-india-modi-became-pm-were-covering-environment-related-stories
