Durban — UMdloti residents have welcomed the news that illegal sand miners operating in the area have been taken into custody.
Last week was the second time that residents of the Mount Moreland sounded the alarm over the illegal activity at the Umdloti River, D757 Bridge. Trucks were operating at all hours, digging sand and resulting in the river ecosystem being decimated.
Hayley Wagner, resident and chairperson of the Mount Moreland Monitors security group, said they were furious.
“Sand mining can lead to erosion, loss of protection against storm surges, damage to the fragile ecosystem and the destruction of habitats. We are a conservancy, we are fiercely protective of the wildlife and fauna.
“The damage they are causing by mining recklessly and illegally upriver can also have an extremely negative impact on the marine ecosystems further down river at the Umdloti River mouth, said Wagner.
She said the miners had even set fire to bushes surrounding their illegal site.
“Not only are they illegally damaging the environment, they are endangering the lives of the local communities by recklessly setting fires in the current windy and dry conditions. Mount Moreland is surrounded by cane - had this fire gotten out of control we would have been powerless to prevent it from sweeping through our village,” said Wagner.
After contacting SAPS and the Biodiversity Management Department, it was found that Tongaat Hulett’s owned the land but they did not respond to Wagner's concerns.
“It was extremely frustrating. The fact that the illegal miners come into our area, with no regard for the environment and brazenly commit blatant theft is extremely frustrating. More so that our hands are tied, and yet the relevant departments who can stop this immediately are slow to react.
“We know the company who are responsible, they are well known for attempted land grabs in the area. They seem to think they own the land and can do what they like,” she said.
To the residents’ relief, the Verulam SAPS heard their pleas and attended to the matter.
“As this is the second time around, and a first conviction, I am so relieved that their digger has been impounded and this matter will now go to court. I have made invaluable connections which will definitely expedite the process if they come back. It was a definite win against illegal criminals who abuse the environment for their own gain,” said Wagner.
Residents from Mount Moreland had the same experience in April, where another company had also engaged in illegal sand mining.
Dr Anthony Turton, a professor in the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State said sand mining was an ongoing issue, explaining that one of the critical components of concrete is sand.
“Sand is a critical element of our national economy, particularly of the built environment and there are two sources of sand. The one source of sand is from legalised sand mines, and the other one is illegal sand mines, it’s a constant ongoing battle,” he said
Turton said that the legal activity caused all kinds of problems because it changes the way that the river flows, and it also changes the way the wastewater treatment works.
“On the coast, you find almost all of the rivers, all of the lower reaches of the rivers before the river reaches the sea, you’ll find that there’s generally very good quality river sand and that river sand is very easy to access and it is accessed in many cases by illegal operators.
“They dig, and then they open up parts of the river, they load trucks, and then they disappear,” said Turton.
He said those who mine sand needed to have a licence and permission.
Tuton said that sand mining was a destructive process, but it’s a job creator for very poor people, and it was a highly exploitative industry.
“Sand mining is a very dangerous industry, because there's no protection for the illegal workers and then they generally get exploited enough for their services.
“All of the illegal sand mining trade is basically criminal in nature. It is a destructive process and it’s almost always an indicator of extreme poverty in the area, you almost always find very, very poor people living in the area and you also generally find a very low level of development in that area,” he said.
Turton said that even though Tongaat Hulett’s own the land, they don’t own the river running through.
The Sunday Tribune had contacted the Department of Mineral and Resources who said they were not aware of the issue.
Despite promising to provide a response, Tongaat Hulett’s did not comment at the time of going to print, while KZN police confirmed that a digger was impounded and that the matter was being investigated.
Sunday Tribune