CBEMR network communities in Thailand join the World Cleanup Day Campaign

By: Udomsak Pariwatpan (Em), Field Project Coordinator, MAP-Asia

Mangrove Action Project (MAP) in collaboration with the Trash Hero, Sikao Branch, participated in the World Cleanup Day event up for the first time ever along with other 7 participating locations in Trang province.

The World Cleanup Day is a growing international movement which in 2018 involved 158 countries and an estimated 15 million people making our planet cleaner and safer. The goal is to do something concrete while raising public awareness about one of our planet’s most serious environmental issues.

 Udomsak Pariwatpan, MAP staff organizer, joined the 

Cleanup day with fifteen community members 

from Bang Kang Khao, Trang province to collected 

trash at the community mangrove restoration site.

On the September 15th , 2018 MAP together with three villages from our Community Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) network actively joined the World Cleanup Day event by collecting trash in their mangrove and beach areas including Bang Khang Khao, Trang province and Nai Nang and Klong Gam communities in Krabi province.

Marine debris, especially plastics is a growing environmental crisis affecting wildlife, human health, coastal ecosystems and not least the esthetics of our coasts.

Thailand is the 7th largest marine debris polluter in the world.

Nai Nang Village, Krabi province, were present with eight representatives from the Apiculture Group collecting marine debris along the beach near their village.

Even though it was a typical monsoon weather in southern Thailand with pouring rain all day long, our CBEMR community people were amazingly insistent to make it happen and to be part of this event.

One of community member addressed the group saying that the rain was just something to test and see how strong we are. The rain finally stopped right after we finished our waste collection.

On this very special day with helping hands from 59 villagers from the 3 communities we managed to collected a total 371 kilograms of garbage.

The Klong Lu Homestay group from Klong Gam village, Krabi province, were present with six villagers who co- organised with thirty staff from the Thai Lion Air collecting garbage on the beach at the Klong Lu village.

Members separated recyclables from the rubbish which was sold to contribute to their own community conservation funds.

MAP and the CBEMR community network hope annually to join this global event to highlight the trash issue and work year round to deal properly with waste locally.

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