Thursday, December 08, 2011

Cleaning of Mamutik Island: Miss Scuba International pageant joins Project Aware Foundation

KOTA KINABALU: Almost 200 ‘cleaners’ comprising divers and individuals from various professions wanted to make a difference to the environment yesterday.

They exchanged their office to diving gears and got themselves dirty to clean up the Mamutik Island.

The 193 voluntary cleaners joined the programme organized by Project Aware Foundation, Borneo Divers, Sabah Tourism Board and Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA).

Out of the group, 73 are divers who picked up marine debris within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park waters including Manukan, Mamutik, Sulug and Sapi islands with international participants including Raleigh International and participants of the Miss Scuba International pageant.

The programme is part of Project Aware Foundation’s continuous effort to conserve marine life after the foundation changed their focus more towards marine debris and saving sharks in recent years.

According to Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Bolkiah Ismail, after Project Aware Foundation was introduced in Sabah in 2001, the foundation never failed to hold similar programmes for Sabah’s waters.

“This programme is in line with the aspirations of our ministry to ensure that our environment is always protected. We have several agencies such as SEPA, Raleigh International as well as Sabah Parks to participate to show the public that everyone has responsibilities to conserve the environment.

“We also have divers here collecting the garbage in the waters in this annual project which is supported by the Ministry through Sabah Parks and Sabah Tourism Board. This programme will continue to be supported by us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the No Rubbish Campaign, which is being handled by City Hall and the Ministry, is one of the efforts the government has taken to address this matter.

“The rubbish we see being collected through these programmes all came from us. So we must tackle this problem from its source. Not only do we get to keep the city clean, but ultimately also conserve marine life,” he said.

Continue reading at: Cleaning of Mamutik Island: Miss Scuba International pageant joins Project Aware Foundation
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