PADI calls on divers to turn the tide on plastics and help influence the Global Plastics Treaty
Diver training agency PADI and its not-for-profit PADI AWARE Foundation are calling on the scuba diving community to participate in the 7th Annual AWARE Week, which runs between 14 – 22 September this year, to help rid the ocean of marine debris.
PADI is encouraging its dive professionals, resorts and dive centres to organise events that it hopes will influence the Global Plastics Treaty, which PADI hopes will adopt its Dive Against Debris programme as an official tool in the fight against plastic pollution.
‘This year PADI Members have a significant opportunity to join us and turn the tide on plastics,’ says Danna Moore, Director of PADI AWARE. ‘With the Global Plastics Treaty currently in development and the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on the horizon for November, this year’s AWARE Week events provide an important opportunity to call for a strong treaty.’
PADI’s four ways to get involved this year include:
Dive Against Debris Specialty Courses
Dive Against Debris is the world’s largest citizen science underwater marine debris removal programme. It also registers debris types and levels into a global database which provides data that can be used to influence government policy and drive efforts to reduce marine pollution.
Participating in PADI’s Dive Against Debris Specialty Course will provide divers with the skills and knowledge to remove marine debris from dive sites and log data into the database.
‘All PADI Assistant Instructors and higher are now automatically eligible to teach the Dive Against Debris Specialty Course, meaning more PADI Professionals now have the power to teach more superheroes how to save the ocean,’ said Moore.
Make every dive a survey dive
During AWARE Week, make every single dive a survey dive – whether that be part of an educational course or an adventure dive.
‘We encourage PADI Members to keep the momentum going both during and after AWARE Week and continue submitting Dive Against Debris data, as it will continue to support PADI AWARE’s policy work to create a standardised global monitoring solution for marine debris,’ said Moore.
Host Dive Against Debris events
PADI Members can easily engage students in their local conservation efforts by hosting a community-wide Dive Against Debris event that invites everyone to participate in a beach or ocean clean-up.
This brings with it an opportunity to organise a workshop before or after the clean-up and teach the PADI AWARE course, which will highlight the primary issues affecting their local marine ecosystem and the best methods to use in order to solve them.
Sign the petition for a strong Global Plastics Treaty
PADI Members can ask their divers, local communities and anybody concerned about the marine environment to sign the Global Plastics Treaty petition to call for a strong treaty will ensure that:
- The rate at which plastic waste enters the ocean is substantially decreased;
- Avoidable plastic products that commonly enter the ocean are eliminated;
- Governments recognise that the diving community is critical in tracking the impact of the treaty.
‘PADI and the AWARE Foundation are the only organizations representing the global recreational dive community in the ongoing official negotiations leading up to the anticipated agreement of the Global Plastics Treaty in 2025,’ said Moore. ‘Help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures during AWARE Week by rallying your community to sign too.’
To learn more about AWARE Week and how to get involved, visit www.padi.com/leadawareweek.
