Ghana Wildlife Society, Let’s do it Ghana clean beaches campaign to stop marine pollution

Regional news for Sunday, September 20, 2020

Source: GNA

20-09-2020

The Ghana Wildlife Society in association with Let’s Do It Ghana, a civic movement, cleared some beaches in Accra on Saturday, including; the beach of Laboma of plastics to protect marine life and aquatic food for human consumption.

The organizations also conducted brand audits to classify plastics and find out which brands or companies indirectly polluted the environment, especially aquatic life, with their plastics.

The exercise was observed by 180 countries around the world on the theme “1 day to clean our planet”.

Louisa Kabobah, Head of Conservation Education and Projects at the Ghana Wildlife Society, said plastics pose great chaos and danger to marine life, especially sea turtles, dolphins and sharks.

He explained that sea turtles often mistook plastics for algae, which they fed on, and thus drowned and lost their lives.

Sea turtles, he said, were now a globally endangered species as a result of marine pollution, so it was important for everyone to join forces to prevent their continued death or stabilize their population in the seas.

Ms Kabobah explained that plastics do not leave the environment but rather disintegrate into smaller particles, adding that: “And when fish feed on them, it becomes a risk to human consumers. Even if plastics left the environment, it would take about 400 years. “

He said that research had shown a link between the consumption of tiny plastic particles in fish and some cardiovascular diseases and cancers; therefore, it was important to discourage single-use plastics and improper disposal of plastic waste.

“When you go shopping, instead of picking up a plastic bag for your purchases, take a shopping bag with you. If it’s water, you can buy a reusable bottle and refill it. If it is a container that you cannot do without, use it to reuse it to make it sustainable, “he advised.

Ms Kate Opoku, Country Leader of Let’s Do It Ghana, said that among the problems identified in the wake of COVID-19 are the inappropriate ways in which face masks are disposed of and sometimes end up in the sea.

“While cleaning the beaches today, we saw a lot of them, so we want to tell people, please dispose of your masks well after use, otherwise they would end up in the sea and affect our marina. life, ”he advised.

Ms Opoku said that the brand audit report would be incorporated into the global reports and steps would be taken to discourage brand promotion that would further harm the environment.

“Our message to the companies identified after the brand audit as causing the most contamination is that they can do more and better in terms of packaging. We need products that can be reused, recycled and that are friendly to the environment, because single-use plastics are killing our environment, “he added.

The exercise was organized with the support of the Street Sense Organization, Decathlon Ghana, the Australian High Commissioner, the Dadekotopon City Council, Laboma Beach, Green Way International and the Coastal Conservancy Organization.