Organizer of world’s largest beach clean-up wins top UN Environmental Award
2 December, 2016 – Indian lawyer Afroz Shah has been announced as one of the winners of the United Nations’ top environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth award, for his efforts in launching what has become the world’s largest beach clean-up in Mumbai.
Awarded in the category of Action and Inspiration, Mr. Shah is being recognised for inspiring hundreds of volunteers over the past year to help rid Mumbai’s Versova Beach of 4,000 tons of plastic, glass and filth that had built up on the sand.
Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim, who joined Mr. Shah for a day collecting waste from the beach in October, said: “Mr. Shah’s efforts, and the hundreds of volunteers he’s inspired, is a wonderful example of citizen action and reminds the rest of the world that even the most ambitious, global agreements are only as good as the individual action and determination that brings them to life.
“His outstanding leadership is drawing global attention to the devastating impacts of marine litter.”
In October 2015, Mr. Shah and his 84-year-old neighbour Harbanash Mathur, since deceased, decided they had to do something drastic to reclaim the beach from the rubbish that had overwhelmed it. So they rolled up their sleeves and began the seemingly impossible task of clearing the 2.5 kilometre strand. The litter, including plastic bags, cement sacks, glass bottles, pieces of clothing, and shoes, covered every inch of sand and measured shoulder height in places.
Mr. Shah said: “This award is in honour of the hundreds of volunteers who have joined me over the past year to clean up our beach and ocean. I am an ocean lover and feel that we owe a duty to our ocean to make it free of plastic.
“I just hope this is the beginning for coastal communities across India and the world – we have to win the fight against marine dumping and that involves getting our hands dirty. We humans need to reignite our bond with the ocean and we don’t have to wait for anybody else to help us do that.”
Mr. Shah rallied residents and fisherfolk in the area by knocking on doors and explaining the damage marine litter causes. In just over a year, what began as a two-person crusade has mushroomed into a 1,500-strong operation of community volunteers of all ages and walks of life to make their beach, mangroves and ocean healthier and safer for humans and marine species alike.
Mr. Solheim added: “Together volunteers have laboured under the baking Indian sun for eight hours a day every weekend, using diggers, trucks and their bare hands to remove 4,000 tons of plastic from their beach. In doing so, they are sending a strong signal to political authorities that they should enact policies that reduce the influx of plastic into the oceans.”
Each year, people around the world produce nearly 300 million tons of plastic and a similar amount of plastic waste. Of that, as much as 13 million tons finds its way into our oceans. It is as if we were dumping two garbage trucks of plastic into the ocean every minute. The plastic wreaks havoc on our fisheries, marine ecosystems and economies, costing up to $13 billion per year in environmental damage.
Mr. Shah plans to expand his group’s operation to prevent rubbish from washing down the local creek and onto the beach. He also wants to clean-up the coastline’s litter-choked mangrove forests, which act as a vital natural defence against storm surges, and to inspire similar groups across India and the rest of the world to launch their own clean-up movements.
About Champions of the Earth
The annual Champions of the Earth prize is awarded to outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment.
Since being founded twelve years ago, the awards have recognized 78 laureates – ranging from leaders of nations to grassroots activists – in the categories of policy, science, business and civil society.
Mr. Shah joins Jose Sarukhan Kermez, Mexican research biologist (Life-time Achievement); Rwandan President, Paul Kagame (Policy Leadership); Moroccan Sustainable Energy Agency, Masen (Entrepreneurial Vision); and Leyla Acaroglu, Australian sustainability innovator (Science and Innovation); and a posthumous Action and Inspiration award for Berta Cáceres, Honduran rights campaigner killed in March 2016.
The awards will be given out as part of a high-level reception hosted by the Government of Mexico at the 13th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancun, December 2, 2016.
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Afroz Shah – An introduction
Afroz Shah, a young Indian lawyer from Mumbai, is synonymous with the world’s largest beach clean-up project.
In October 2015, Mr. Shah and his neighbor Harbansh Mathur, an 84-year-old who has since passed away, were frustrated with the piles of decomposing waste that had washed up and completely overwhelmed the city’s Versova beach. Determined to do something about it, the pair started cleaning up the beach themselves, one piece of rubbish at a time.
Every weekend since, Mr. Shah has inspired volunteers to join him – from slum-dwellers to Bollywood stars, from schoolchildren to politicians. They have been turning up at Versova for what Mr. Shah calls “a date with the ocean”, but what in reality means labouring shin-deep in rotting garbage under the scorching Indian sun.
So far, the volunteers have collected over 4,000 tons of trash from the 2.5 kilometre beach.
Mr. Shah, who rallied residents and fisherfolk by knocking on doors and explaining the damage marine litter causes, now plans to expand his group’s operation to prevent litter from washing down the local creek and onto the beach. He also wants to clean-up the coastline’s rubbish-choked mangrove forests, which act as a natural defense against storm surges, and to inspire similar groups across India and beyond to launch their own clean-up movements.
Mr. Shah is deservedly proud of the Versova residents’ accomplishments. Not only has the movement brought marine little to the attention of decision-makers, it is also starting to win back the beach, with decreasing amounts of new litter appearing each month.
He vows to continue his beach clean-up crusade until people and their governments around the world change their approach to producing, using and discarding plastic and other products that wash up onto beaches all over the world.
AIRASIA BAGS TWO HONOURS AT WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS GRAND FINAL
World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline fourth year in a row, first ever World’s Leading Inflight Service award
MALÉ, 3 December 2016 – AirAsia has been named World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for the fourth year in a row at the 23rd World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final here today.
Asia’s largest low-cost carrier beat contenders from five continents to secure the award, including Ryanair, easyJet, Jetstar Airways, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Norwegian, Kulula, Mango, fastjet, flydubai, Air Arabia, flynas and West Air.
AirAsia also won the World’s Leading Inflight Service title for the first time ever, besting full-service carriers Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Qantas Airways, Lufthansa, American Airlines and Air Canada.
The win builds on AirAsia’s success earlier this year when it secured Asia’s Leading Inflight Service award from WTA for the first time.
The World Travel Awards serves to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, as chosen by thousands of travel professionals and high-end tourism consumers.
Airlines are judged on customer satisfaction and service quality, overall business performance, product innovation, staff relations and development, corporate social responsibility and contribution to local community, commitment to sustainable policies and fulfillment of long-term corporate vision.
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “What a thrill to win World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for the fourth straight year. It’s a great honour to round out what has been a great year for AirAsia, not just financially but in terms of recognition from the industry.
“I’m also super proud of our first World’s Leading Inflight Service award. I’ve always said we have amazing crew and amazing inflight products, and we’ve proven it by beating not one, not two, not three, but eight full-service carriers for the prize.
“But there’s more to come. We’re always working on more innovations, and not just for inflight. Right now, we are exploring ways to make the airport experience better. One thing we’re looking at is fast-tracking guests who share their travel profile with immigration authorities. We expect to trial this at selected airports in Asean in the not-too-distant future, so keep an eye out for it.”
AirAsia Group Cabin Crew Head Suhaila Hassan said, “Cabin crew are the heart and soul of any airline, and I am overjoyed that our AirAsia Allstars are being honoured for their hard work in delivering the world’s best inflight service. Some people still think budget means bad service but this award proves low-cost doesn’t have to mean low quality.”
AirAsia Group Inflight F&B Head Catherine Gohsaid, “We’ve worked hard this past year to understand what the market wants and provide truly delicious inflight meals. From our Santan menu, featuring dishes from across Asean, to our T&Co premium coffee, nothing has been spared to ensure our guests get only the best, and I’m glad our guests agree with us because tonight would not have been possible without their support.”
roKKi CEO Lalitha Sivanaser said, “roKKi has expanded its coverage to more of the AirAsia fleet so guests can enjoy seamless connectivity on more aircraft. While inflight wifi is fast becoming standard on airlines, no other solution is as easy and affordable to use, or as cost effective to run as we are.”
AirAsia is Asia’s leading low-cost carrier, with an extensive network of more than 120 destinations in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa. It is also the only airline to fly direct to all 10 Asean countries, including some 60 unique routes in the region.
AirAsia was also named World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for the eighth year in a row at the 2016 Skytrax World Airline Awards in July.
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