The seventh annual AWARE Week to tackle the problem of marine debris is scheduled for 14-22 September, and PADI and its conservation charity the PADI AWARE Foundation want members to take the opportunity to help influence the Global Plastics Treaty currently under development.
The training agency is seeking to have its Dive Against Debris programme, described as the world’s largest citizen-science underwater marine debris database, included in the treaty as part of a global solution to remove and monitor ocean litter.
If this happens, Dive Against Debris becomes an approved methodology for governments to use, helping to change global waste-management systems and plastics supply chains and representing a “unique and crucial opportunity for a worldwide co-ordinated initiative to significantly address the ongoing plastic-pollution crisis”.
“PADI and the AWARE Foundation are the only organisations representing the global recreational dive community in the ongoing official negotiations leading up to the anticipated agreement of the Global Plastics Treaty in 2025,” explains PADI AWARE director Danna Moore.
“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 wants a substantial reduction in the rate at which plastic waste enters the ocean, the elimination of avoidable plastic products that commonly enter it, and for governments to recognise that the diving community is “critical in tracking the impact of the treaty”.
Four ways to help
In and around AWARE Week, PADI members are urged to contribute in one or more of four ways. They can teach the Dive Against Debris speciality course; run survey dives; host clean-up events and encourage their diver communities to sign a petition calling for a strong Global Plastics Treaty. PADI aims to add at least 10,000 signatures to the petition during AWARE Week.
“All PADI Assistant Instructors and higher are now automatically eligible to teach the Dive Against Debris speciality course, meaning more PADI professionals now have the power to teach more superheroes how to save the ocean,” says Moore.
“We also encourage PADI members to keep the momentum going both during and after AWARE Week and continue submitting Dive Against Debris data.”
One of the easiest ways for members to get involved in the week is to host a Dive Against Debris event or other conservation activity, says Moore.
This can mean inviting people to take part in a beach or ocean clean-up, while also offering a workshop before or afterwards to teach the PADI AWARE course, highlighting primary issues affecting the local marine ecosystem and suggesting ways in which attendees can continue to help save the ocean.
Find out more about PADI AWARE Week.
Also read: PADI AWARE Foundation surpasses $500,000 in Mission Hub grants, PADI launches new AWARE Specialty course, Kraken Rum partners with PADI AWARE Foundation
