초록
This study evaluated current status of marine sand mining and related assessment systems in Korea 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 sand accounted for 21%. The proportion of marine sand to the total mined aggregates has steadily increased by 15% in 1992 to 28% in 2002, but recently slightly decreased. Marine sand mining is regulated under a consultation system on the coastal development according to the "Marine Environmental Management Act". During 2002-2009, a total of 184 million $m^3$ of marine sand was mined, and the annual amount ranged from 17,440,000-33,698,000 $m^3$ the coastal area accounted for 64.5% and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) 35.5%. In the coastal area, the major area supplying the marine sand was Gyeonggi Bay (>62%) followed by some southwestern coastal areas. The South and the West EEZ explained 23.9% and 11.6% of the total mined sand. The extent of marine sand mining in Korea was evaluated to be greater compared with other countries. Large-scale concentrated and repeated sand mining can damage environmental changes and ecology with long-term accumulated impacts.
