Status of Marine Sand Mining and Assessment System in Korea

Abstract This study evaluated current status of marine sand mining and related assessment systems inKorea for supporting effective policy development. The estimated total deposit of sand was ca.10 billion m 3 , while the estimated minable amount was ca. 5.5 billion m 3 , in which marine sandaccounted for 21%. The proportion of marine sand to the total mined aggregates has steadilyincreased by 15% in 1992 to 28% in 2002, but recently slightly decreased. Marine sand mining isregulated under a consultation system on the coastal development according to the |MarineEnvironmental Management Act}. During 2002-2009, a total of 184 million m 3 of marine sandwas mined, and the annual amount ranged from 17,440,000-33,698,000 m 3 the coastal areaaccounted for 64.5% and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) 35.5%. In the coastal area, themajor area supplying the marine sand was Gyeonggi Bay (>62%) followed by somesouthwestern coastal areas. The South and the West EEZ explained 23.9% and 11.6% of the totalmined sand. The extent of marine sand mining in Korea was evaluated to be greater comparedwith other countries. Large-scale concentrated and repeated sand mining can damageenvironmental changes and ecology with long-term accumulated impacts.Keywords : Marine Sand Mining, Assessment System, Coastal Area, EEZ, EnvironmentalChange