MUSCAT, SEPT 21 - A beach cleaning campaign unearthed 250 kg of old fishing nets from 1.5 km of Al Hail beach on Saturday, highlighting the threat to marine life and oceans. The volunteers of Save Oman Beaches, who embarked on a cleaning mission to mark the ‘World Cleanup Day’, also removed a mountain of plastic in 59 bags. “Our fourth cleaning campaign in less than a year reveals how reckless we are in harming our natural resources,” said one of the volunteers of Save Oman Beaches.
The NGO, which deployed 38 volunteers from different walks of life who are passionate about the environment, conducts regular cleanups with the help of Muscat Municipality, the Royal Oman Police and other authorities in Al Hail. “We conduct regular cleanups every Saturday and it’s simply a pointer to our conscience on how we take our nature for granted by simply rubbishing the environment not thinking of the people to come after us,” Ammujam, an active volunteer told the Observer.
Muscat Municipality, PDO and Be’ah have launched a six-month campaign called ‘Better than It Was’ to clean up beaches in Muscat Governorate and to promote partnership with local community and spread culture of preserving the local environment.
A study conducted by the National Centre for Environmental Conservation (NCEC) has said that Oman’s beaches are predominantly littered by plastic debris while wood pieces made up most of the total weight of beach waste.
“The threat posed by this plastic waste to our environment, marine life and its ripple effect to the society could be enormous,” a Muscat Municipality representative said.
Save Oman Beaches will be conducting a seminar to educate the local residents on the importance of keeping the beaches safe and clean. ‘Pollution is Real’, a presentation on the effects of litter on the environment on September 25 at the Al Rowdha Mosque in Al Hail, will feature the dangers facing beaches.
“We will strongly be advocating to ban the sale of single use PET bottles on the shores of Oman and encourage reusable bottles,” the volunteers said.
“To reduce the waste on the beaches, we call on the authorities to adopt a clear approach in the distribution of high quality and sealed rubbish bins around the beaches,” they said.
Qurayat Divers, an organisation that helps clean up the beaches will be a part of the campaign. ‘Move Green’ and a number of individuals from across the capital area and surroundings will be part of this movement, the organisers said.
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