River sand and gravel mining: A global synthesis of drivers, extents and impacts for sustainable management

Sand and gravel are mined from rivers globally at unprecedented scales, yet the full extent and impacts of this extraction remain underrecognized relative to other environmental crises. Here we present a comprehensive review of riverine sand and gravel mining (SGM), synthesizing 279 studies published over the last five decades within a novel Driver-to-Management Pathway for Sustainable Mining (DMPSM) framework. This framework links the drivers of SGM, the spatial extent of extraction, and the resulting hydrogeomorphic impacts to inform sustainable management strategies. Our synthesis reveals pronounced spatial and scalar mismatches among the scales of drivers, extraction, and impacts: the socioeconomic drivers of sand demand often act at regional to global levels, whereas extraction extents are poorly quantified at local scales, and impacts can propagate far beyond mining sites, complicating effective governance. Excessive sand removal disrupts sediment budgets, triggering riverbed incision, bank erosion, and channel instability. These geomorphic changes steepen hydraulic gradients, lower alluvial water tables, and reduce hyporheic exchange, collectively degrading riverine habitats and water resources. We further find that SGM impacts are compounded by multiple anthropogenic stressors: upstream dams trap sediment, land‐use changes increase sediment demand, and climate change alters flow regimes, creating compounding feedbacks that accelerate channel degradation. Our global synthesis underscores the urgent need for improved monitoring across scales and integrated management and governance strategies to bridge these disconnects. Aligning extraction with natural sediment replenishment, strengthening regulatory frameworks and enforcement, and enhancing stakeholder engagement are critical steps to mitigate SGM’s cumulative impacts and ensure sustainable river basin management.