Durban – More than 850 people including schoolchildren participated in a beach clean-up drive and jointly collected over 3 000kg of marine litter at the Beachwood Mangroves Nature Reserve in Durban on Sunday.
The clean-up, a joint partnership between the Indian Consulate General and eThekwini Municipality, was driven by a campaign to keep beaches clean and free from plastic litter.
The clean-up initiative, called G20 Beach Clean-up, was undertaken to mark India’s G20 presidency, which it assumed in 2023, in addition to it celebrating 30 years of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa.
The beach clean-up drive in Durban is part of India’s global initiative to bring attention to the problem of marine litter, and the need to work together towards sustainable development of oceans.
Addressing marine litter is another aspect that will be an area of focus under India’s G20 presidency.
Indian Consul-General Dr Thelma John David said the campaign was one of the largest “Jan Bhagidari”, or community participation campaigns, under India’s G20 presidency.
David said that India aimed to enhance co-operation among G20 nations in promoting sustainable ocean management and marine biodiversity conservation. Schools that participated were Maidstone Primary School, Lyndhurst Primary School, Durban Girls’ College, Glenwood School, and Durban University of Technology students.
In India, this event started with a Mega Beach Clean-up campaign that was held in Mumbai, followed by deliberations on the Ocean 20 dialogue. Ocean 20 serves as a platform for sharing best practices in science and technology, innovation, policy, governance, participation and blue finance mechanisms, all aimed at ensuring a sustainable and climate-resilient blue economy.
Speaking on the occasion, John David highlighted the powerful message behind the theme of India’s G20 presidency called ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which means “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.
John David emphasised the importance of Mission Life, or Lifestyle for Environment, and the need to adopt sustainable and environment-friendly lifestyles as highlighted by India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Underscoring India’s sustainable efforts to mitigate marine litter, John David mentioned that the large-scale Jan Bhagidari or People Movement initiative was testament to India’s commitment to preserving coastal and marine ecosystems during its G20 presidency.
She said India also sought to enhance collaboration among the G20 nations in promoting sustainable ocean management and marine biodiversity conservation.
eThekwini Municipality was represented by Head of Department: International and Government Relations Eric Apelgren. He said he appreciated India’s commitment to promoting international co-operation in addressing challenges of environmental pollution and climate change.
Apelgren reiterated the fact that every small step that we take towards preserving and conserving nature would come back to us in a big way.
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