Mahfudzulloh Al Murtadho, Jakarta – The Head of the Coastal and Marine Resource Research Center at Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Professor Yonvitner, said sea sand export has long been deemed a futile activity. Sea sand dredging in shallow waters, he said, is considered harmful to the ecosystem, and even the socio-economic aspects of the country.

"Based on the amount of risks against the natural habitat generated by dredging the sea sand," he told Tempo on September 26.

The Indonesian government recently reopened the sea sand export activity after a two-decade ban, thanks to Government Regulation No. 26 of 2023 on the management of sedimentation at sea.

The revision of two ministerial regulations concerning export also advances the sea sand export. Now, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is reviewing and sorting the export permit submissions from 66 companies.

President Joko Widodo or Jokowi previously claimed the government approved of sea sediment export, not sea sand. The sediment, he said, will be dredged due to obstruction of shipping lanes.

According to Yonvitner, the government regulation on sea sand export has not provided a clear improvement on ecological concerns relating to the saltwater material exports, nor financing for conservation plans in the mining area.

"There's no study about the (sea sand export) risks on the ecosystem, natural habitat, and environment," he said, referring to the revisions for the trade minister regulations.

The difference between sea sediment and sea sand

Representing the Coastal and Marine Resources Research Center, Yonvitner said there's a tangible difference between sea sediment and sea sand. Sea sediment, he said, comprises diverse material composition, including rocks, gravel, sand, and mud.

"If we're talking about sediment, it covers all results of decomposed materials," he said.

Meanwhile, the former chair of the Indonesian Geologists Association (IAGI), Andang Bachtiar, explained that the sand in the middle of shallow waters, at a depth of 10-100 meters, is not the result of new sedimentation from rivers.

The material spread around the Sunda Shelf, starting from the waters of Riau, the Gulf of Thailand, the waters of Natuna, the waters of northern South Java, and Kalimantan is classified as ancient sea sand.

"(The sea sand) was the result of rivers sedimentation 10-20 thousand years ago, when the Sunda Shelf was still land," Andang told Tempo on September 25.

Calling himself a sedimentologist, Andang affirmed that the exported material won't be mud, clay, or silt, but pure sand with a diameter of 1.16-2 millimeters. "They are mining ancient sand," said Andang.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1921445/sea-sand-export-poses-no-benefits-for-indonesia-researche