Over the past weekend almost 1 and a half tons of garbage was removed from the beaches along the coastline that stretches a distance of over 37 km from Ponta do Ouro to Ponta Dobela in Mozambique.
This massive cleanup initiative was coordinated by Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve in partnership with Dolphin Encounters in celebration of International Coastal Clean-up Day on 19 September. Local communities, tour operators and their families, and the youngsters from Helping Hands, all banding together to assist in the efforts.
The materials collected included plastic and glass bottles, plastic bags, fuel tanks, ropes, cigarette butts, toothbrushes, and even car bumpers. These were all separated by category, then cataloged and weighed, in order to collect data that could assist in identifying the nature of the waste and method of disposal. Information related to the source of the pollution – whether it be ships in transit, fishermen, tourists or community residents, or other – is important to as it assists authorities to take suitable preventative and corrective measures.
In addition to cleaning the beach, participants engaged with users of the beach, creating awareness about appropriately disposing of any waste in the provided garbage containers.
The plastic, glass en metal debris left on the beach not only poses a great risk to the many coastal species of animals, birds, and aquatic life, but can also cause injury to people visiting the beach for recreational activities.
Help us to keep beaches clean and promote a healthy environment for the benefit of humanity and marine life.
Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, together with the Maputo Special Reserve, is co-managed by the National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) in partnership with the Peace Parks Foundation, which has been providing technical and financial support for the development of conservation activities and tourism development.