Nam participates in world’s biggest coastal cleanup

NAMIBIA will once again take part in the global coastal cleanup campaign on September 18 and 19.

The local campaign will see more than 350 coastal school children, as well as corporate sponsor Indongo Toyota Walvis Bay and the Namibia Coast Conservation and Management Project (Nacoma), participate in the 24th International Coastal Cleanup.The annual event is the biggest cleanup initiative in the world, and is organised by the Ocean Conservancy. Indongo Toyota Walvis Bay hosted the event in Namibia for the first time last year. Willem Baartman, General Manager of Indongo Toyota Walvis Bay, said it was every business and individual in Namibia’s duty to do what they could to preserve the environment for future generations.’By participating, Indongo Toyota is setting an example that will hopefully inspire others to do their bit for the environment. We must not forget that every piece of litter has a person’s face behind it,’ he said.Approximately 400 cubic metres of glass, paper, plastic and metal rubble was removed from the beach along Walvis Bay’s coastline during the day last year and sent to recyclers. Baartman added that there is still a lot of work to be done to save local beaches and the best way to keep the beaches clean is ‘not to litter’. ‘Rather take your litter to a recycler or at the very least, bin it. It is in all our interest to reduce our waste, re-use what we can and recycle the rest,’ he said.Teams from eight schools in the Erongo and Karas regions that are part of Coastodian’s pilot school coastal awareness programme, designed to educate and inform students on the importance of Namibia’s coastal environment, will participate.They will keep a log of all the debris they collect and this will be submitted by Nacoma to Ocean Conservancy, the international organisors of the event. Namibia will be represented in the final report and the learners will be recognised as taking an active part in an international effort to clean beaches.Along with helping to rid the coast of unsightly and potentially dangerous garbage, the learners will also participate in an art installation competition sponsored by Nacoma. Using recycled materials, each school or class will construct an art installation that will serve as a container for the garbage they collect. ‘Conservation and understanding go hand in hand, and given Nacoma’s goal of strengthening, conserving and promoting the sustainable use of the coastal and marine eco-systems in Namibia, it is imperative that we reach out to the next generation of conservationists, starting with today’s learners,’ said Rod Braby, Co-ordinator of Nacoma. ‘By participating in the international coastal clean-up, Namibia’s learners are true ‘Coastodians’ of their environment, caring for our coast, caring for our future.’Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup engages volunteer organisations and individuals to remove trash and debris from the world’s beaches and waterways; to identify the sources of debris; and, to change the behaviour that causes marine debris in the first place. Apart from the Indongo Toyota Walvis Bay staff, the event can be supported by volunteers. All volunteers for this year’s event, including any person or institution that wants to be part of it, can contact Willem Baartman at Indongo Toyota Walvis Bay at (064) 203-561 or by e-mail: w.baartman@indongotoyota.com. Indongo Toyota will co-ordinate the clean-up on Walvis Bay’s beaches and Nacoma will involve schools from Henties Bay, Swakopmund and Lüderitz.