Marine Life & Conservation
Divers help to clean up Dubai Beach on Second World Underwater Clean-Up Day
Items which should be in landfills — discarded car tyres, a toilet seat, flip flops, and lots and lots of plastic bottles — were recovered from the shores of Dubai and underwater near the Skydive Dubai Dropzone near Palm Jumeirah on Saturday for the second World Underwater Clean-up Day.
Some 31 licensed underwater divers and 40 non-divers discovered early morning Saturday that the beach proved a convenient dumping ground for trash by some residents.
The clean-up team, composed of officials from Skydive Dubai, Dubai Municipality, Fazza Marine, and Pavilion Dive Centre, started at 6am to clean up the beach and underwater area. At least 50 sacks of litter were collected and brought for recycling after the event.
The clean-up was held simultaneously in more than 80 countries across the globe to clean all types of water debris from seas, lakes, and rivers. The initiative also aims to enter the record books for the Most Participants in an Underwater Clean-up in Multiple Venues for the Guinness World Records.
Much of the trash collected on Saturday had most probably come from the beach and boat users near the area, Gayton said.
Elena Lokatskaya, Assistant Manager of Pavilion Dive Centre, said the most unusual trash they found was “lots of rubber flip flops” or slippers. Although nine months pregnant, Lokatskaya participated in the on-shore clean-up drive to stress the fact that the future of our oceans depends on what we do today.
“We can make a difference today for a better tomorrow. No matter where we’re from, who we are, we all need to work together in protecting the ecosystem,” Lokatskaya said.
The clean-up teams covered two areas—the Logo Island with a depth of seven to nine metres and an area of 57.4 metres, and Skydive Dubai Jetty with a depth of two to five metres.
Source: www.gulfnews.com
Photo: Abegail Bokingo
Marine Life & Conservation
Reef-World launch new toolkit in response to the current global coral bleaching event
The Reef-World Foundation – international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative – has launched a new coral bleaching toolkit in response to the 4th global coral bleaching event confirmed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) in April 2024.
The Green Fins Global Coral Bleaching Response Toolkit provides guidance to the marine tourism industry on how they can help manage and monitor the impacts of coral bleaching and get involved in recovery efforts. It features information about coral bleaching, including the causes, impacts and response strategies. The toolkit is compiled from a variety of readily available resources from multiple organizations and initiatives, such as ICRI, Coral Reef Alliance, Reef Check and NOAA, along with Green Fins materials, to ensure it is accessible to everyone. These resources cover methods for reducing local impacts, monitoring the reefs and engaging tourists and local communities.
The El Niño phenomenon has been present since February 2023, which has led to persistently warmer temperatures being experienced around the world and has affected the sea surface temperatures. Coral bleaching has been recorded in all ocean regions ever since. While this event is widespread and serious, there is still hope as bleached corals are not dead corals. Corals can survive bleaching events and thrive if they are given the time to adapt to the changing climate.
“Coral reefs are under a huge amount of stress every day and that reduces their chance of recovery from bleaching events,” said Chloe Harvey, Executive Director at The Reef-World Foundation. “However, this time around the scientists have been watching the data closely, so we’re prepared. We understand what it means and we know what we need to do to respond to it. This global event calls for global action to protect these vital ecosystems for generations to come.”
By equipping the industry with the necessary knowledge and tools, Reef-World hopes to empower these key stakeholders to play a crucial role in preserving the health and resilience of our precious coral reef ecosystems. Reef-World believes that with the right resources, the marine tourism industry can be a driving force in the fight against coral bleaching and contribute significantly to the long-term sustainability of marine environments.
With this momentum, other key players in the industry, such as PADI AWARE Foundation and NOAA, have gotten on board the campaign for more citizen scientists to help out in monitoring coral bleaching. With the toolkit available to all, The Reef-World Foundation is looking forward to more collaborative actions in the industry.
Explore the toolkit on Green Fins’ website: greenfins.net/coral-bleaching
A real solution for an environmental catastrophe is in reach
Six years after setting sail for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), we have developed the cleanup technology to relegate the patch to the history books.
On 6 September 2024, The Ocean Cleanup will return to San Francisco, where founder and CEO Boyan Slat will provide an update in which he will announce what is needed in terms of time, money and efforts to eradicate the GPGP.
To confirm your presence, please RSVP to press@theoceancleanup.com
PROGRAM
- Press conference: CEO and founder Boyan Slat will announce the next phase of the cleanup of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
- Interviews: opportunities to interview Boyan Slat (CEO & founder), Joël Jansen (Director of Oceans), Arjen Tjallema (Director of Technology) and Matthias Egger (Director of Environmental and Social Affairs)
- Vessels & technology: visit our two iconic ships, take a look at extraction System 03 and see the extracted plastic up-close and personal*
*Limited availability; RSVP soon to press@theoceancleanup.com
PRACTICALITIES
Date: September 6, 2024
Press conference: 12 pm (noon) / doors open 11.30 am
Location: The Exploratorium (Google Maps)
Pier 15 (Embarcadero at Green Street), San Francisco, CA
Parking: Visit The Exploratorium’s website for details
RSVP: press@theoceancleanup.com
Press kit: a press kit will be shared afterwards
To find out more about the Ocean Cleanup, visit www.theoceancleanup.com.
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