Shifting Sands

Shifting Sands (Singapore, Malaysia, China, 2017 – on-going)

The world is running out of sand. It seems counter-intuitive but sand, besides air and water, is our most used commodity. The insatiable demand for this non-renewable resource has led to environmental impact where it’s mined and to mafias driving the lucrative business.

The global depletion of sand is driven by rapid urbanisation — especially in China and other parts of Asia — and land reclamation. Singapore, where I’m from, is the world’s largest importer of sand per capita. It has reclaimed almost a quarter of its territory over the last 60 years.

The story of sand is, to me, that of the global income gap writ large: wealthy states buy up land from their poorer neighbours and move it to where they want it.

I’m mapping and researching this on-going project on this looming global problem.

Singapore, 2017

Singapore, 2017

Singapore, 2017

Singapore, 2017

Vietnam, 2017

China, 2013

Singapore, 2017

Malaysia, 2017

Singapore, 2017

Singapore, 2017

Malaysia, 2017

This multi-country project has been supported by Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and the Exactly Foundation.