By Janet A. Sesay
The European Union in Sierra Leone in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, National Tourist Board and the Freetown City Council has on Saturday, 26th October, 2024 successfully concluded the Seventh Edition of the “EU Beach Clean Up Day” at the Lumley Beach aimed at tackling plastic pollution.
This initiative forms part of the EU’s global commitment to raising awareness on the urgent need to protect the environment and keep the oceans free from plastic pollution.
The event also brought together a wide range of participants including government officials, civil society, the diplomatic corps, the business community, students and volunteers from across Sierra Leone, demonstrating the power of collective action.
In his remarks, Ambassador Jacek Jackowski, the EU Ambassador to Sierra Leone noted that the oceans are facing unprecedented challenges but together we can make a real difference.
He said the cleanup exercise is a reminder that collective action is key to protecting the environment and ensuring that the beaches, marine life and ecosystem thrive for future generations and affirmed the EU’s stands with Sierra Leone in this fight for sustainability.
Ambassador Jackowski said the privilege of having a beautifully pristine stretch of beach between Lumley and Aberdeen as part of Freetown’s coastline, demands shared responsibility to maintain its cleanliness, preserve its natural beauty, not only for ourselves but also for the many tourists who come to enjoy it.
He said the European Union and its Member States will continue to support Sierra Leone’s environmental protection efforts as a key focus of development partners and the Multi Annual Indicative Program (MAIP) for 2021-2027 which is the green economy and this he said, includes supporting the sustainable Management of Sierra Leone’s ecosystem and biodiversity.
In her remarks, Freetown’s Mayor Yvonne Aki Sawyer praised the event and stating that the oceans are at the heart of planet-earth in the provision of air, supporting biodiversity and sustaining communities.
She however lamented that they are under threat by plastic wastes, which she maintains demands a call to action in adopting sustainable practices and strengthening waste management to protect the oceans.
She expressed the delight of the Freetown City Council in partnering with the European Union each year, in its beach cleanup initiative which raises awareness on the need to ensure a clean and healthy city.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Mrs. Nabeela Tunis called tourism as “everyone’s business” and thanked the Ambassador of European Union, Jackowski, the Mayor Yvonne Aki Sawyer, the Head of IOM, the Deputy Manager of Tourist Board and other stakeholders for being part of the activity, she referred to as “important to every Sierra Leonean.”
Minister Tunis noted that the partnership with the EU and other stakeholders in ensuring the beauty and cleanliness of the country’s beaches must be taken lightly and thanked the EU for the initiative and gratified the commitment the Union body in Sierra Leone has attached to the initiative as a yearly exercise.
She urged those having bars along the beaches to take decisive steps to clean and maintain the hygiene of the beaches, furthering that it is understandable that maybe 80-90% of the dirt and debris are not generated on the beaches, but are generated and drifted down to the beaches from up-town communities, but however noted that beach users are also contributing to the overall pollution of the beaches.
Minister Tunis therefore described the beach cleanup partnership as critical in the preservation of the sanctity and pristineness of the Lumley and Aberdeen beaches in ensuring that they go back to their glory years of many decades ago.