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This year’s Clean-Up Arabia Campaign, organized by Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and Emirates Diving Association (EDA) and held under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Hazaa bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ended on a successful note, when on November 21, 2009 over 250 volunteers banded together to help keep the UAE’s marine environment safe and clean.
The volunteers, who included residents of Al Mirfa, cleaned the Al Mirfa Corniche Public Beach and Al Mirfa’s Fishermen’s Port. Dive clubs from several organizations such as GASCO, ADMA and Borouge also took the plunge to clean underwater. H.H Sheikh Hazza bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the campaign’s patron, also enthusiastically splashed for trash and dived into the port area. Moreover, Al Mirfa Hotel and Al Mirfa Municipality employees joined school students and their families. Together, the volunteers collected around 800 Kg. of trash.
The trash consisted of around 2,000 cigarette butts, 455 plastic beverage bottles, 340 beverage cans, hundreds of food wrappers, several pieces of construction material and several abandoned fishing lines. Volunteers were shocked to find an old car battery, two large cans of paint, fiberglass drums and two sign boards underwater.
On November 20, 2009 over 100 volunteers boarded colorful kayaks and cleaned the Eastern Corniche beaches and mangroves. The volunteers, who included the American Community School’s Girl Scouts Troops and Abu Dhabi Volunteers, a Facebook Group, paddled their way through the muddy banks and collect a large amount of trash. They collected around 5,000 cigarette butts, 2,000 plastic food containers, 1,200 cans, many meters of irrigation pipes and construction materials, remains of a washing machine, a large waste bin, a large truck tire and many other types of marine debris. The trash was then handed over to the Center for Waste Management – Abu Dhabi for recycling.
On November 19, 2009 a Kid’s Marine Day was held on the Corniche Public Beach in Abu Dhabi. Hundreds of children and their families attended this educational event and learnt about their marine environment through a Treasure, a story-telling corner, a coloring corner, and a marine wildlife slide show. Excited children lined up to express their “environmental message” through song and poetry to the audience.
On November 16, 2009, the documentary “Abu Dhabi: Home Home of the Legendary Mermaids” was screened at Cinestar, Marina Mall and attracted a large audience. The fascinating documentary is based on research conducted by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi and its conservation efforts to protect and preserve the habitat and the dugong population within the UAE and surrounding regions. The film also interviews dugong experts from around the world and highlights its behaviour and anatomy with fantastic high definition footages of the shy and rarely encountered dugongs in Abu Dhabi waters.
On November 15, 2009, a Marine Talk was hosted by ADMA-OPCO and featured several experts from EAD and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). Dr. Himansu Das, Associate Scientist at EAD, talked about the current status of sea turtles and dugongs in the UAE. Ms. Suaad Al Harthi, Assistant Scientist at EAD, highlighted the importance of Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve and the urgent need to protect habitats as they are homes and feeding and nursery grounds to a variety of marine life and migratory birds. Dr. Mark Beech, Cultural Landscapes Manager at ADACH, highlighted the importance of the marine archaeology of the UAE. Dr. Beech informed divers to look for ways to document the “not-so-old” off shore wrecks and to report to the authorities any historical sites encountered for example stone anchors within UAE waters.
This year’s Clean-up Arabia campaign was held in partnership with Noukhada Adventure Company, Abu Dhabi Municipality, Abu Dhabi Municipality, Al Mirfa Muncipality, Veolia, GASCO, ADMA-OPCO, Al Mirfa Hotel, Masaood Marine and the Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA).
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