BENIN: Erosion-inducing coastal sand mining to be outlawed

COTONOU Friday, October 03, 2008 (IRIN) - Faced with rising sea levels and coastal erosion caused in part by coastal sand mining, carting away of free beach sand for commercial uses, the national government has begun a campaign to save its coastal sand by digging up sand inland, instead. But communities near these newly-created sand collection spots are fighting back. Paul Gbogbo, a farmer from one of the river sand mining sites, Abomey Calavi, told IRIN, “We want our compensation to be clear....