This
year’s World Red Cross Red Crescent Day will take place
on 8 May. The theme of the event is “together for humanity”
and around the world, National Societies will be organizing
events and activities to showcase the importance of working
together to make vulnerable communities safer and better prepared.
As part of a four-part series to mark 8 May, we look at how
one partnership has helped communities in the Maldives clean
up their isolated homes.
Many of us take for granted that we can leave our garbage and
recycling bins out once a week and they will be taken away.
Yet in the Maldives, a country of 1,200 small islands spread
across a thousand kilometres, managing household waste has been
anything but simple. And it’s a task that was made practically
impossible by the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean almost two
and a half years ago.
“Before the tsunami, any garbage that couldn’t be
burned ended up in the water or was scattered on the ground
or beaches,” explains Jo Sanson, the Australian Red Cross’
country representative in the Maldives. “After the tsunami,
it was even worse because dangerous and sometimes toxic debris
was everywhere.”
Thanks to a joint effort by the Australian and Canadian Red
Cross Societies, excellent progress has been made in cleaning
up 74 of the worst affected islands. Already, 55 islands have
been cleared and 28,000 cubic metres of debris have been removed
as part of the 11.3 million Swiss franc (US$9.4 million / €6.9
million) clean-up and sustainable waste management programme.
The remaining islands are expected to be cleared by mid-2007.
“I didn’t see waste as an issue before but now I
realize it is clearly the biggest environment and health issue
facing the Maldives,” continues Inaya Abdurraheem, project
officer for the Maldives Ministry of Environment. “There
hadn’t been a good way to deal with all the garbage until
now.”
The programme also involves building waste management centres
on each island to encourage communities to separate waste into
organics, recyclable materials and other garbage.
“Our island was so dirty before and there was a bad smell,”
says Hussain Rafeen, a resident of Naalaafushi. “The advice
and assistance from the Red Cross will help keep our island
clean. We will try our best and if each of us does a little
bit, together we can do it easily."
Developing sustainability
Jo Sanson is also working with communities to develop sustainable
waste management plans. “Composting and recycling is really
a new idea here,” she explains.
“It’s exciting to see how quickly some communities
are embracing this programme and the impact it is making on
their islands. Waste that previously lined the beaches is now
concentrated in one area and sorted.”
The centres provide a central location where people can bring
their waste and separate it into plastics, metals and hazardous
waste. Organic matter is composted or burned.
For the island nation, finding ways to dispose of garbage properly
and learning how to recycle and compost promotes a healthy environment,
supports tourism and the economy, and helps protect the delicate
coral reefs. It’s also an excellent example of how working
together can make a real difference in people’s lives.
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The
idea of composting and recycling is really new on the
Maldives. (p15656)
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After
the tsunami, dangerous and sometimes toxic debris was
everywhere. (p15658)
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A
joint effort between the Australian and Canadian Red Cross
Societies is making excellent progress on cleaning up
74 of the hardest hit islands.(p15657)
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