Contentious Plan to Send 70 million cubic meters of Australian Sand Overseas

Australia has approved a contentious plan by a European corporation to suck up millions of cubic metres of sand from the waters surrounding the Kimberley and ship it overseas.

Dutch dredging operator Boskalis told Yahoo News the material would likely be sent to South East Asia.

“The sand would most likely be used for coastal protection purposes and/or development of land,” a spokesperson said, noting the region’s densely populated cities are susceptible to erosion from climate change.

Environs Kimberley, the region’s peak conservation NGO, has labelled the project “bonkers”.

It has warned that dredging up to 70 million cubic metres of sand (28,000 Olympic swimming pools) from the Cambridge Gulf seabed could cause “significant and irreversible harm”.

Speaking with Yahoo News, Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said the Kimberley has one of the most intact coastlines on the planet.

He has called on the Western Australian government to intervene and stop Boskalis’s plan from being carried out.

“The place is alive. It has massive mangrove systems that are full of fish and crabs,” he said.

“It’s one of these places in the world that is very rare to find, and now the plan is to put a massive mining operation right in the middle.

“It’s just beyond belief, really.”

‘Dredging project could harm rare turtles and dolphins’

Just over the border in the Northern Territory, the government converted its long-standing moratorium on seabed mining into a ban in 2021.

The Cambridge Gulf is home to humpback dolphins, snubfin dolphins, freshwater sawfish, and the northern river shark, all of which are threatened.

The region also has one of the highest densities of nesting sites for flatback turtles, a species listed as vulnerable to extinction that nests only in northern Australia.

This includes one of its most important nesting sites, Cape Dommet, which the state’s biodiversity department (DBCA) found was a nesting ground for 3,250 animals.

“Putting this kind of development in such an important turtle rookery is just bonkers,” he said.

“You’ve got a massive dredging machine that can just suck them up and essentially spit them out as mincemeat.

“But not only turtles, the snubfin dolphin too, a rare animal found only in northern Australia.

“With this species, even a couple of deaths will lead to its demise in that area.”

Company plays down environmental concerns

Boskalis said it has “thoroughly assessed” all potential environmental risks in accordance with state and Commonwealth requirements.

It said it self-reported the plan to ensure it complied with both the WA Environmental Protection Act and the Commonwealth Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

“The environmental assessment studies find that the proposal is feasible and viable and unlikely to cause significant residual environmental impacts,” its spokesperson said.

Detail in approval concerns scientist

A condition of the project is that it cannot mine during peak flatback turtle nesting season, which runs through August and September.

But the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) argues there is evidence that the species nests year-round.

“For this reason, it’s concerning that the Australian government has approved industrial sand extraction so close to this important nesting population, and during times which could disrupt nesting turtles’ behaviour,” AMCS environmental scientist Dr Kimberly Riskas said.

Boskalis ruled out other nearby sites

Boskalis revealed it considered other offshore sites surrounding Cambridge Gulf, which you can see crossed out on the map below.

They included the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, which was “screened out” because it is within a Commonwealth marine park.

“While sand sourcing can be permitted in the marine park, subject to assessment and conditions, Boskalis prefers not to seek to undertake developments in protected areas, when alternatives exist,” it said.

“Two areas immediately offshore from Cambridge Gulf were also assessed — King Shoals and Medusa Banks.

“Both of these areas contain sand resources that are likely to be orders of magnitude greater than [those] within Cambridge Gulf.

“However, they were screened out as they are both within the State North Kimberley Marine Park, and the Medusa Banks are located immediately offshore from the Cape Domett turtle nesting beach, and protecting that beach is an extremely high priority for Boskalis.”

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