The sand curse: sand mining, environmental degradation and social conflicts in The Gambia

The Gambia continues to navigate through a complex transition process seven years after exiting twenty-two years of authoritarian rule. While progress has been recorded, The Gambia still contends with conflict drivers of which land governance and disputes over the management of land resources especially sand and its aggregates remain significant. To this end, this study examines the “Sand Curse” by investigating how sand mining is accelerating land disputes between communities and driving tension between actors in the sand mining industry and members of communities. Deploying the participatory research design and gathering information from qualitative sources, this study advances the “Sand Curse” argument by highlighting how sand mining in purposively selected coastal and non-coastal communities is accelerating environmental degradation and contributing to the food security crisis. It highlights how the environmental impacts of sand mining have become a driver of social conflicts. Central to the “Sand Curse” argument that this article advances, is the explanation of how “Sand Rent” is mediating social relationships and driving social conflicts in the Gambia in the context of liberal democratic space. Taking a cue from the Urban Illicit Ecologies explanation, the article highlighted how collusion between state actors and sand mining businesses engendered violent community actions and drove social conflicts in the Gambia. The study emphasizes the importance of accountable and transparent governance of sand rent, adherence to the applicable national environmental regulatory framework governing sand mining, and efforts at sustainable communal peacebuilding as pathways to address the sand curse in the Gambia.