As the country is emerging from the festive period, SBM Kenya Bank has joined hands with other stakeholders to redouble their efforts in Sea Turtle Conservation in Diani Beach through beach clean-up.
The beaches bore the brunt of the epoch as most activities took place, contributing to an increase in the plastic and other debris that have a negative impact on the marine ecosystems.
To ease garbage collection in Diani Beach and to maintain a clean environment, the SBM Bank donated a giant turtle-shaped waste disposal structure.
The bank is keen to extend Diani’s foothold as one of the cleanest beaches in the world.
The country’s rich marine ecosystems face various threats ranging from rapid population growth and concomitantly increased fisheries exploitation, illegal fishing, and loss of mangrove cover, coupled with global environmental threats such as climate change and increased development pressures which bring habitat degradation.
The bank is spearheading turtle conservation efforts. The country has five endangered Turtle species: Green Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Olive Ridleys Turtle, and Leatherback Turtle.
It has also adopted five turtle nests and donated equipment that have increased the efficiency of turtle conservation activities. The initiatives have yielded over 441 turtle hatchlings.
“Improving waste management at the coastline is a strategy to reduce and manage marine debris along the coast that will not only help to decrease entanglements and ingestion by marine animals but also improve coastal habitats and the lives of communities in these areas,” said SBM Bank Kenya Coast Regional Manager Anthony Muchoki.
During the beach clean-up exercise, 172 Kilogrammes of plastics and 47 Kilogrammes of glass were collected from the Diani coastline.
“The exercise has been quite successful, and as we do this, the main reason is to conserve marine life and, more especially, conservation of turtles,” stated Muchoki.
He added that turtles don’t survive in an environment with garbage, as plastics normally kill them.
Beachgoers were advised against littering the beach and to deposit their waste in the waste disposal structure to keep the beach clean.
“Every time we clean up the beach, we keep the plastics away from the turtles. It means that we are going to conserve more turtles and more marine lives,” said the SBM Coast Regional Manager.
“Diani Beach normally attracts a lot of tourists; it is a tourist attraction. Therefore, we have to keep it clean so that we can keep the hotels going, tourists coming, and create employment for our youths and the people of Diani at large,” he added.
Diani Turtle Watch Manager Dempsy Mai explained that they are involved in sea turtle nestling, rescuing, and responding to dead turtles.
Beach cleanups, he noted, help to address the problem of marine litter, especially plastic waste.
“The plastics that we litter in the terrestrial world sometimes end up in the ocean. Unfortunately, turtles confuse that plastic matter for food, and they end up consuming it and clogging their digestive systems,” stated Mai.
He further divulged that they had dead turtles in the past, and upon necropsy, they found bits of plastics in their stomachs.
“Plastic is a problem; it is a threat to the feeding habits. It is also a problem for them to find a place to nest because a lot of plastic debris brought in by the ocean is also littered in places Sea Turtles are nestling,” explained the Diani Turtle Watch Manager.
The public was advised against the use of single-use plastics on the beaches to reduce plastics littered in the beach environment.
Assistant Manager, Maji Beach Boutique Hotel, Evelyn Mutuma, urged beachgoers to be mindful of the marine ecosystem and not to litter.
By Sadik Hassan
