The world's first sea sand mining monitoring platform is online
2023 09/23
Caixin September 6 news, the United Nations Environment Program's Global Resource Information Database Geneva Center (GRID-Geneva) has launched the world's first sea sand mining monitoring platform, which can track and monitor large dredging vessels engaged in mining and dredging at sea through the automatic identification system (AIS). The mining behaviors such as dredging, dumping and transshipment landing are identified and quantified by the specific characteristics of ship movement over time. The platform can locate the locations of large dredgers around the world and their mining areas, and estimate the amount of production, but it is not yet possible to detect manual small-scale mining activity. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the Sea Sand Monitoring Platform to improve the transparency of mining activities, promote better management of sand and gravel resources by industry authorities, and work with dredging and mining entities to reduce environmental impact through higher mining standards.