

In the past two decades, sand and gravel are the most significant portion of primary material inputs used in building and transport infrastructure and are the most-extracted group of raw material in the world, exceeding both fossil fuels and biomass. Sand is an essential ingredient for many industries, including concrete, glass, and electronics. There is a growing demand for sand where there is rapid economic development. Scientists have been studying the effects of the building new infrastructure systems on habitats but have overlooked the impact of extracting sand to make those new systems. This lack of focus, on the effects of mineral extraction, is probably due to lack of awareness. The absence of data on aggregates sand mining leads to lack of awareness and makes observations, about its impact, very difficult. This study proposes a systematic monitoring mechanism for the sand extractions and trade that can bridge the current data and knowledge gap. The main goal of the study is to develop a sand governance framework to regulate sand extraction, use, and trade. First, space imagery technology is employed to analyze the sand resource; then a business framework is developed applying blockchain technology, which generates trusted decentralized network and bypasses central authorities.