Coastal cleanup drive conducted to conserve marine life, reduce plastic pollution

KARACHI: “Plastic pollution is damaging our freshwater bodies and oceans. It is posing a serious threat to both freshwater and marine life. Therefore, we need to take up this issue seriously and act now otherwise we will lose rich biodiversity in a very short span of time”. This was stated by speakers during a briefing session at a coastal cleanup drive initiated by WWF-Pakistan in collaboration with a commercial organization at Sea View, Clifton, Sandspit and Hawksbay beaches in the city on Saturday. More than 800 participants including academia, students, volunteers and other citizens joined the activity and a total of 140 bags of garbage were collected by participants from six km beach area during the drive.Dr. Babar Khan, Regional Head Sindh and Balochistan, WWF-Pakistan shared that plastic pollution is adversely affecting marine turtles, sea birds and other diverse marine life. Many of the creatures we love, such as whales, dolphins, birds and turtles, die because of plastic pollution. He also said that plastic consumption is increasing day by day, hence we need to ban its production and discourage its use. He emphasized that every citizen at an individual and collective level should contribute by making lifestyle changes like recycling more or drinking from reusable water bottles. He said that such small acts can have bigger impact and can help conserve nature. He called for discouraging single-use plastics and promoting sustainable food consumption that can contribute towards making a real difference.