Strategic Partner:

CLEANUP ARABIA

Emirates Diving Association (EDA) has been running Cleanup Arabia since its inception in 1995, a voluntary campaign that annually cleans-up the UAE’s dive sites and beaches with EDA Members and Partners working together, side by side. Cleanup Arabia is part of the Clean Up The World Programme that is promoted and managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the International Coastal Cleanup by the Ocean Conservancy which is our data submission platform.

The campaign is made up of EDA members and stakeholders that participate in dive site and beach clean-ups which help shape their consciousness concerning marine debris and saying no to single-use plastics. Inspiring change to make a difference together!

www.cleanuptheworld.org and www.oceanconservancy.org

FACTS

  • Marine litter is a problem for everyone! It affects us all, not just the coastal communities. We need to all take part and fix the problem together.
  • Marine litter poses threats not only to the marine environment, but to human health, to the appearance of the coast, and to tourism.
  • Plastic typically constitutes around 75% of all marine litter, and it is regarded as one of the most problematic materials because of its abundance, longevity, and the fact that larger plastics break down into ever smaller parts termed ‘microplastics’.
  • Our ultimate goal as a people, is to prevent more litter from reaching the marine environment in the first place. We need to reduce, reuse and recycle when possible, and ban “Biodegradable” products.
  • Biodegradable plastic, as defined in most of the world, requires specific conditions such as heat and soil-dwelling microbes and bacteria to fully biodegrade. Such conditions do not exist in many ocean environments, and therefore plastic that might otherwise be biodegradable in industrial composters, does not biodegrade once it enters the marine environment.
  • EDA has reported-to-date, 62,157.016kg of marine litter collected by EDA Members & Partners through Cleanup Arabia since 1995.

THE CAMPAIGN’S OBJECTIVES

  • Engage the community and involve people from all walks of life to make a difference.
  • Rid the marine environment of pollution.
  • Direct people toward positive attitudes in maintaining a clean and sound environment by practice and participation.
  • To record the quantities and types of debris collected each year and to make comparisons with the previous data collections.
  • Data collected is reported to the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and used in educating the public, businesses, industries and government officials about the marine debris problem we face in the UAE and neighbouring GCC.

CLEANUP ARABIA T-SHIRTS

We have had a sustainable T-shirt brand design since 2018 which we ask you to please reuse for every CUA event. Only new CUA participating members will receive a free T-shirt for all future Cleanup Arabia events.

NOTE: If a new T-shirt is required due to loss or damage, you may purchase a new T-shirt with the membership discount from our shop.

REUSABLE DRINKING BOTTLES

All participants are to bring their own REUSABLE water bottles to refill at the water stations as part of our sustainable responsibilities.