Indian embassy in Kuwait organises beach cleaning drive, 500 volunteers take part

Kuwait City [Kuwait], June 17 : As many as 500 volunteers enthusiastically took part in a beach cleaning activity organised by the Indian Embassy in association with several groups in Kuwait on Saturday morning.

The beach cleaning drive was organised by the Indian embassy in joint collaboration with UN-Habitat, Hawally Governorate, the Municipality and various Indian community associations. The event marked a collaborative effort to promote environmental awareness and community participation as part of Mission LiFE - Lifestyle for Environment, an initiative of the Government of India.

Indian Ambassador Adarsh Swaika, Head of UN-Habitat GCC Ameera Alhassan lauded the beach cleaning initiative. Apart from them ambassadors from Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Afghanistan, Morocco, Romania, Vietnam, Cambodia in Kuwait also graced the event with their presence.

Environmental degradation and climate change are global phenomena where actions in one part of the world impact ecosystems and populations across the globe. Estimates suggest that if requisite action is not taken against the changing environment, approximately 3 billion people globally could experience chronic water scarcity. The global economy could lose up to 18 per cent of GDP by 2050.

Over the last two decades, several macro measures have been implemented globally to address environmental degradation and climate change, including policy reforms, economic incentives and regulations. Despite their enormous potential, actions required at the level of individuals, communities and institutions have received limited attention.

Changing individual and community behaviour alone can make a significant dent in the environmental and climate crises. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), if one billion people out of the global population of eight billion adopt environment-friendly behaviours in their daily lives, global carbon emissions could drop by approximately 20 per cent.

In this context, the concept of 'Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow on 1st November 2021, calling upon the global community of individuals and institutions to drive LiFE as an international mass movement towards "mindful and deliberate utilisation, instead of mindless and destructive consumption" to protect and preserve the environment. LiFE puts individual and collective duty on everyone to live a life that is in tune with Earth and does not harm it. Those who practice such a lifestyle are recognised as Pro Planet People under LiFE.