By George M.O. Williams
The European Union Delegation in Sierra Leone in corporation with the Freetown City Council, National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ) and Shout Climate Change Africa on Saturday, October 1, 2022, cleaned up the Aberdeen/ Lumley Beach in a bid to raise awareness about the critical need to protect the environment and keep the beaches and oceans clean.
This is the fifth edition of the EU Beach Cleanup campaign was themed: “United Against Marine Litter” with a main focus on youth in the fight against threat of marine litter.
In his welcome address, the Head of European Delegation in Sierra Leone, Ambassador Manuel Muller emphasized on the need to keep our beaches and oceans clean, by reducing plastic pollution of oceans which will help protect marine life and biodiversity for future generations.
“Each year, 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean. This is the same as dropping every minute, over an entire year, a full truck of plastic garbage into the ocean. 60% to 80% of marine litter globally is plastics. Plastic litter, which often sea animals mistake for food, is poisoning and degrading marine environment,” Muller said.
He added that keeping the beaches, the oceans and the environment clean is everybody’s task and responsibility in whatever locality they find themselves adding that the continuous effort and action of everybody counts in having clean beaches, oceans and environment.
Muller cited that in homes, people should learn to reduce the amount of plastic they use and dispose adding that it’s their collective responsibility to look after the ocean and to desist from disposing plastics in the ocean in order to achieve cleaner and healthier future.
The Deputy General Manager National Tourist Board, Jeffery Moijueh said that Sierra Leone is known for her beautiful beaches in the world, but added that marine litters is gradually destroying that beauty.
He pointed out that people in coastal communities, and those living in the provinces are in the habit of disposing waste in the ocean adding that disposing of litters into the ocean is dangerous for the marine species and would make the beach unclean.
The President of SLAJ, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla emphasized that the media should be active enough to raise awareness on how to protect the environment, adding that it is also the responsibility of the media to monitor the implementation of policies relating to the environment.
“As media we are leading the advocacy to ensure that people clean the environment because the marine ecosystem is key in providing food for people,” Nasaralla said.
Nasaralla noted that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the environment ministry should invest in public education programme to raise awareness on the protection of the environment and marine species.
The Deputy Chief Administrator at the Freetown City Council, Peter Abdul Koroma, said the initiative of the EU and Partners resonates with their work to manage waste disposal and to maintain clean environment, thus he said that over the years the EU has been supporting that initiative.