‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’
THE Consulate General of India, Durban organised a “G20 Beach Clean-up Drive” at the Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve last weekend.
They partnered with eThekwini Municipality as a part of an initiative under India’s G20 presidency to make a co-ordinated effort to clean up beaches around the world.
The objective is to address plastic pollution and other environmental concerns.
Eric Apelgren, the head of International and Governance Relations at the eThekwini Municipality, opened the event. He said while residents of Durban were helping to clean the Beachwood Mangroves in the city, India and other G20 partners were simultaneously cleaning beaches in their respective countries.
The event in Durban was attended by a number of diplomats, among them the Consul General of India, Dr Thelma John David, and her United States counterpart, Anne Linnee.
John David said: “We in India are linked to Durban by the same ocean so it is important we both preserve and conserve our coastline.”
John David said the initiative was put forward by India to move forward the G20 effort to help clean-up beaches.
“India has highlighted the bringing about of awareness of marine conservation by conserving biodiversity. We have only one earth, one ocean and one generation to conserve what we have and the efforts of all of us will help.
“Policies only make a difference when each one of us makes an effort.. Today India is leading the efforts across the G20 and guest countries. The 30 beaches in India are also involved, it demonstrates that it is possible with the people’s effort,” said John David.
She stressed the importance of preserving mangroves. “I am from a coastal area in India so I truly understand the importance of mangroves. One acre of mangrove is 10 times more effective in fixing carbon dioxide in the world. So if we preserve one acre of mangrove across our coastal towns and cities then we make a great impact. We in India have a
large zone of mangroves in West Bengal, it’s a unique biosphere.”
John David said this was the first beach clean up effort they have hosted.
“We are getting leaders and policy teams who usually sit behind desks to now come to beaches and get involved with the ordinary people.
“This shows people that they can make the impact by themselves. We hope that the importance of oceans is reiterated and will become a part of the G20 agenda for years to come as part of the oceans 20 dialogue.”
The initiative will continue within their program every year, she said.
Linnee said: “I grew up in Minnesota. I only saw the ocean when I was 25, so I did not understand ocean issues.
“We are excited that India has chosen this theme; it aligns well with what we in the United States are focusing on, which is cleaning up the ocean.”
She was delighted to see so many young people at the beach clean up.
“From today’s initiative, I hope everyone takes back the fact that every action has an impact on the ocean and environment. When you do clean ups you find things you don’t think you would see in the ocean, like a packet of chips or water bottles. I hope people see the impact and change.”
Linnee encouraged the use of less plastic. “When you’re buying groceries, look at the packaging, go to supermarkets with your own reusable bags. In
South Africa I see that they have taken the step to not use plastic bags, it is impressive to see the innovations.”
Linnee, based in Durban, said she appreciated that the conversation on conservation was always on the agenda in South Africa. “Many people have come to the event today; everyone gets involved in environmental clean ups and always lend a helping hand.”
Trevor Ganesan Govender, a scientist and nature conservation lecturer and Professor Akash Anandra, head of Nature Conservation and the Centre for Algal Biotechnology, are both from Mangosuthu University of Technology. They gave their insights at the event.
Govender, who is doing his PhD on mangroves said: “Oceans are the lifeblood of the planet, they make up most of the biomass of the earth. The mangroves provide more oxygen than the Amazon rainforest and are a home for bird life.”
Anandra said, “Microplastics are unseen to us but end up in our wildlife like fish. Microplastics enter our food chain (fish) and carry chemicals that cause illnesses. Even when we pick up the plastics from the beach it’s already too late because the microplastics have already entered the ocean.
“Cleaning up plastic is not only for the ocean but also humankind. We need to start awareness from home and start making little changes so we can conserve our oceans. We need to be proactive in minimising the use of plastics.”