Sand extraction is quickly gaining attention both in the academic and policy communities. However, we lack grounded understandings of the multiple realities and impacts of sand extractions across the Global South. This special issue aims to provide a jumping-off point towards both empirically and conceptually sophisticated work on sand. This introduction wants to present the main themes emerging in the paper, key concepts used and developed and show avenues for further research. It also highlights the specific contributions of the different papers, focusing on cases in Latin Amerika, South and South-East Asia and Africa.
