This article by post-doc researcher Dr Arpita Bisht, bridges research gaps around solutions to unsustainable sand extraction, using the lens of post-extractivism whilst continuing to put people living at sand frontiers at the centre of proposed solutions.
As the largest mineral resource consumed globally, the extraction and consumption of sand and gravel has important social and ecological ramifications.
In her article in The Extractive Industries and Society, Dr Arpita Bisht argues that there is an acute shortage of research on its extraction, impacts, and solutions for future resource governance. She draws on the political ecology literature to introduce the concept of 'sand frontiers'. With this as her analytical tool, She addresses four central questions:
- What are the drivers of expansion and intensification of sand frontiers?
- What and where are the current and potential sand frontiers?
- How is the forward movement of sand frontiers occurring?
- What are the identifiable socio-ecological transformations at these frontiers?
In addressing these questions, the paper bridges research gaps around solutions to unsustainable sand extraction, using the lens of post-extractivism whilst continuing to put people living at sand frontiers at the centre of proposed solutions.
'Conceptualizing sand activism: Deconstructing an emerging resource frontier', in The Extractive Industries and Society
- Researcher