Sand Sovereignty and environmental justice: Indigenous governance, sustainable aggregates, and the transformation of land use in Australia

Sand is one of the most extracted natural resources globally, yet its environmental, cultural, and governance impacts remain underexplored. In Australia, increasing sand extraction for construction and manufacturing, driven by urban expansion and infrastructure development, is exerting profound pressures on Indigenous lands, waterways, and sacred landscapes. As First Peoples with connections across both Victoria and Queensland, we argue that these extractive activities are often carried out without adequate consultation, cultural assessment, or consent, perpetuating settler-colonial dispossession, reflecting gaps in legal frameworks that fail to recognise sand as a protected resource under Native Title or Indigenous land rights regimes. We introduce the concept of sand sovereignty as a rights-based policy framework that addresses the environmental degradation, cultural dispossession, and governance failures associated with sand extraction. Through a review of emerging sustainable alternatives — including biochar-infused fines, recycled concrete aggregates, and carbon-sequestering materials — we highlight opportunities to close material loops and reduce environmental impacts. However, we argue that technical substitution alone is insufficient. A transformation in governance, centred on Indigenous custodianship, culturally safe consent processes, and benefit-sharing mechanisms, is essential for sustainable and just material transitions. Sand sovereignty provides a scalable model for reconfiguring infrastructure development in ways that simultaneously heal Country, protect ecosystem services, and uphold Indigenous rights. • Sand sovereignty reframes Indigenous rights over sand as both a cultural and material resource on Country. • Sand mining in Australia often lacks consent, harming sacred sites and disrupting custodial relationships. • Biochar, recycled concrete, glass, and carbon-rich aggregates offer alternatives to natural sand in concrete. • Material solutions must be paired with Indigenous governance, benefit sharing, and data sovereignty. • Sustainability transitions must centre Indigenous leadership in materials science and infrastructure.