Magnum Photosさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Magnum PhotosInstagram)「"Filled with large quantities of matter —cement, gravels and above all, sand— oceans, riverbeds, wetlands and lakes are “reclaimed” to become terra firma. Land that you can walk on, drive on, build on. And most importantly, land that you can sell. " - Justin Tribillon, editor of The Migrant Journal⁠ .⁠ @chiyin_sim’s ongoing project, Shifting Sands, examines the global hunger for sand, and the ill-regulated, under-documented industry it has fed. ⁠ .⁠ See images from the project on Magnum at the link in bio.⁠ .⁠ PHOTO: In recent years, China’s coastal provinces — which house most of the country’s population — have been reclaiming land at a rapid pace, artificially creating huge tracts of land where seas, mangrove and wetland once were. Among the fastest-urbanising countries in the world, China has no shortage of useable land, but land reclamation has become seen as a quick and cheap way to get “a blank slate” of land to build on. Reclaimed land usually costs between US$310,000 and 670,000 per hectare. If you compare this cost to the average cost of purchasing land (especially for commercial/residential purpose) in a big city, it’s in some locations at least 10 times more expensive to buy land, than to reclaim. Since 2006, 13,000 hectares of land (32,123 acres) have been reclaimed on average each year, swallowing up beaches, islands and wetlands. Mangroves which protect the coast and migratory birds’ habitats have been wiped out. China. 2018. Alarmed by this and its impact on the marine ecosystem, China’s government in January and July last year (2018) slapped a ban on commercial land reclamation. Public infrastructure and national defence projects can continue, but many projects by private developers — several proven to be illegal or not officially approved before commencing -- have been suspended, pending investigation or ecological rehabilitation. ⁠ .⁠ © @chiyin_sim/#MagnumPhotos」8月20日 22時01分