So the other week the expedition group accompanied the i-Dive crew,
Daniela Diving, Sheikh Salem and the Dahab Charta Bedouin cleanup team on a
mission to clear litter from the lagoon beach area of Dahab.
Dahab experiences frequent strong northerly winds which blow
all manner of rubbish from the town towards the exposed lagoon. A great deal of
this litter is caught by scrub bushes on the wetlands surrounding the lagoon
but importantly any refuse which is blown through will end up in the reef...bad
times!
The majority of the coral reefs surrounding Dahab are
impacted by human activity, so anything that can be done to alleviate the
strain is considered vitally important. For the task we split into two groups,
the cool divers (Lydia, Jenny and Anna) and the pasty Snorkelers (Myself, Emily
and Michael).
Divers getting ready to go litter picking !
Cool diver and a pasty snorkeler!
The divers joined Sheikh Salem, the I-Dive team and Daniela
Diving in the water clearing rubbish from the reef while the pasty snorkelers covered
up and got stuck in on the scrubland with the Bedouin team manager Mohammed and some local boys in his
charge.
Just one of many loads of rubbish!
Clearing the (not so) wetland
It was depressing to see how much litter was out there but
it felt really good when we had loaded up the pickup trucks with trash, and of
course it was great to be helping out and giving something back to the
community who had made us all feel so welcome.
The snorkelers picking rubbish caught up in scrub
We hope to help out with another clean up before our time in
Dahab is over as it was clear that our work was made a difference. There is a
large-scale clean-up at the Lagoon every month with the local Bedouin team scouring
the coastline weekly in partnership with the Dahab Charta. The Dahab Charta are
a fairly new initiative who aim to increase environmental awareness among
locals and visitors while protecting coral reefs and establishing a sustainable
and enduring economy for future generations. You can learn more by following
the link below.
Guy
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