A French couple face six years in prison for allegedly stealing sand from an Italian beach.
The tourists were stopped by police as they were about to board a ferry in Porto Torres, Sardinia, heading to Toulon in France. Officers found 40kg (88lb) of Sardinian sand taken from Chia beach in 14 plastic bottles in the boot of their car, reports The Guardian.
The couple told police they wanted to take the white sand home as a “souvenir” and didn’t know it was illegal to take it from the beach.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
They now face between one and six years in prison for theft, with the aggravating circ*mstance of having stolen “an asset of public utility” says the BBC.
And under an Italian law introduced in 2017, trading sand, pebbles and shells is also illegal, and punishable with fines of up to €3,000 (£2,750).
Pierluigi Cocco, Sardinian resident and environmental scientist, told the BBC: “Sandy beaches are one of the main attractions of Sardinia. There are two threats: one is due to erosion, which is partly natural and partly induced by the increasing sea level due to climate change.”
The second is “sand stealing by tourists” who have been known to bottle sand and sell it on online auction sites, he said.
The couple are not the first to get in trouble for the offence. In 2018, a UK-based Italian man was fined €1,000 (£930) after stealing sand from a beach near the Sardinian city of Olbia, says The Daily Telegraph. Over the summer, more than 200kg of looted sand has been found in tourists’ luggage at the island’s airport in Cagliari, according to Italian news channel TgCom24.
And the problem goes beyond Sardinia. Residents of some Greek islands have been forced to hang up posters urging people to “take pictures, not pebbles” to stop tourists making off with their coastline’s famous white stones, says Culture Trip. The practice is illegal, and tourists flouting the rules can expect fines of between €400 and €1,000.
What’s the situation in the UK?
Removing any natural material - including sand and pebbles - from public beaches in the UK is illegal under the Coastal Protection Act 1949. It up to local councils to enforce the law, and offenders can be fined up to £1,000.
Last year, a holidaymaker was forced to drive hundreds of miles back to Cornwall to return pebbles he had taken from Crackington Haven beach near Bude, reports The Daily Telegraph.
And the theft of sand isn’t restricted to holidaymakers, So called “grain gangs” have been using JCB diggers to steal tonnes of sand from UK beaches and sell it to builders, reports Metro.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
As someone well-versed in environmental science and conservation, I can attest to the dire consequences of sand theft from beaches, an issue highlighted in the incident involving the French couple in Sardinia. This case underscores a global concern over the illegal removal of sand, pebbles, and shells from natural coastlines, impacting ecosystems and local environments.
The theft of sand isn't merely a legal matter; it's a threat to the fragile balance of coastal ecosystems. Pierluigi Cocco, a Sardinian resident and environmental scientist, rightly pointed out the dual threat of erosion, partly induced by rising sea levels due to climate change, and the rampant practice of sand theft by tourists. The act of removing sand disrupts the natural replenishment process, exacerbating erosion and impacting the habitats of various species.
Italy, with its law introduced in 2017, has taken a firm stance against sand, pebble, and shell trading, imposing fines and potential imprisonment for offenders. Similar situations are observed in the UK under the Coastal Protection Act of 1949, where local councils enforce strict regulations against the removal of natural materials from public beaches.
Moreover, this isn't an isolated incident limited to Sardinia. Reports from Greece indicate a similar issue, where residents have resorted to hanging posters urging tourists to refrain from taking pebbles, emphasizing that this act is illegal and punishable by fines.
Beyond tourists, organized groups—referred to as "grain gangs"—have utilized heavy machinery like JCB diggers to steal substantial quantities of sand from UK beaches, intending to sell it to builders. This industrial-scale theft poses a significant threat, depleting coastlines and disrupting ecosystems on a larger scale.
Ultimately, these incidents underscore the need for greater awareness, stricter enforcement of laws protecting natural resources, and a collective effort to preserve and respect the delicate balance of coastal environments worldwide. Sand theft might seem innocuous, but its cumulative impact on ecosystems and the environment is far-reaching and alarming.
