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Sand and deliver - Sardinians indignant over tourists stealing sand from beaches as souvenirs
Topic Started: Jul 19 2016, 08:38 PM (146 Views)
Pinkulilly
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Sand and deliver - Sardinians indignant over tourists stealing sand from beaches as souvenirs

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It became unwittingly notorious for Silvio Berlusconi's 'bunga bunga' sex parties, but the holiday island of Sardinia is now having to endure a fresh indignity - tourists are stealing silky white sand from its beaches as a souvenir.

An increasing number of visitors are scooping the sand into plastic bottles or bags and trying to take it home as a reminder of their holidays.

Some are stopped at the island’s airports by vigilant officials, who confiscate the keepsakes and warn tourists that taking sand, shells and any other natural materials from the island is an offence.

Around five tonnes of sand was intercepted last summer at Cagliari airport alone and a similar quantity has been confiscated so far this year.

Visitors often carefully label the beach from which they took the sand so as to better preserve the memories of their holiday.

Indignant islanders are raising the issue with the authorities and a group has created a Facebook page called “Sardinia is being robbed and pillaged.”

The amount of sand, pebbles and shells being stolen is unlikely to put a dent in Sardinia’s hundreds of idyllic beaches, but campaigners say it is more a matter of principle. “With the excuse of acquiring a souvenir, tourists are taking from the island what nature took millions of years to create,” the activists say on the Facebook page. “The theft of sand is a crime.”

The Facebook page has attracted nearly 20,000 likes, while nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for tougher penalties for visitors caught with smuggled consignments of sand. “Even sand or a simple stone is part of Sardinia’s natural heritage and should be left where it is found,” one supporter wrote. “I hope that people who are caught will receive the punishment they deserve.”

Campaigners have called for information panels to be installed at airports and ports in an attempt to educate tourists about the importance of leaving beaches, bays and coves as they find them. “We’ve beefed up efforts to prevent the theft of sand from our beaches,” Donatella Spano, a councillor responsible for environmental protection, told La Repubblica newspaper.

Sardinia, renowned for mega-yachts and millionaire’s villas, is blessed with hundreds of miles of idyllic beaches, many of them boasting sugary white sand reminiscent of the South Pacific or the Caribbean.

The beaches of the Maddalena archipelago are particularly stunning, with one island famous for sand of a distinctive pink hue.
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caesium
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Unfortunately only a few percentage of stealers is found (large part of them are identified and fined in the airports), it's impossible monitor almost 2 thousands kms of coasts and all cars embarked on the ferries.

The positive thing is that authorities are sanctioning with high fines these criminals. 3,000 euros. :thumbup:

Today was fined a swedish turist in Tertenia (now he have to pay 3,000 euros for 3 bottles filled of sand)
http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/cagliari/cronaca/2016/07/21/news/in-valigia-3-bottiglie-piene-di-sabbia-di-tertenia-turista-svedese-multato-1.13850567


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caesium
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Another turist was found by forestry corps stealing sand from a beach in Villasimius, he has to pay 3,000 euros too and probably will fined more seriously because in that beach nested a sea turtle and the area was under control and cordoned!


http://it.blastingnews.com/cronaca/2016/07/sardegna-ruba-la-sabbia-dalla-spiaggia-di-villasimius-3000-euro-di-multa-al-turista-001016259.html
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