Dubai: Diving enthusiasts in Dubai can now come together to form the largest volunteering team of divers.
Dubai Municipality has invited divers to join a volunteering programme to clean up the seabed as part of the Day for Dubai initiative.
Aimed at establishing Dubai as the global city of giving and the centre of tolerance and compassion, it was launched by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
The civic body’s aim is to establish the largest group of volunteers with expertise in diving, it announced on social media on Thursday. The initiative is in line with its efforts to protect the marine life and cleanliness of the waterways in Dubai.
Diving enthusiasts interested in participating in this project, which help them give back to the country, have been asked to email their details at DMVolunteersTeam@dm.gov.ae
The municipality was inspired by Shaikh Hamdan who had chosen to clean up the Dubai Marina during the launch of the Day for Dubai initiative, a senior official told Gulf News.
Mohammed Mubarak Al Mutaiwei, assistant director general for Communication and Community Sector, said volunteering opportunities for divers will be announced through the mobile application and website for the Day for Dubai initiative.
In a related event on Thursday, Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality and other senior officials honoured the volunteers including divers who took part in the Clean Up the World campaign held in November.
More than 34,000 volunteers from 512 government, private and non-governmental organisations and educational institutions collected more than 6,000 tonnes of waste from the desert, coastal, residential, and market areas in the five-day campaign.
Praising the volunteers, Lootah said members of the society should cooperate with the authorities in preventing any harm to the environment.
The municipality aims to build a society where the responsibility of protecting the environment is shared by each and every member of the society, he said, urging residents to follow in the footsteps of the leaders leading by example in this field.
“The aim of this event is to develop a positive behaviour towards the local environment and enhance social responsibility towards the country.”
Abdul Majeed Abdul Aziz Al Safaie, director of Waste Management Department, said a group of divers had collected many fishing nets and cages among other rubbish from the sea during the campaign.
Hassan Al Jami and Ahmad Mahdi Al Nuaimi, members of the Dubai Voluntary Diving Team that took part in the campaign, said what they saw at seabed was a sad sight. "We saw dead fish and damaged coral reef at the seabed,” said Al Nuaimi.
Al Jami said the trash they collected from the seabed included parts of ships, cars, tyres, household items and plastic etc
Almost every Friday, sometimes even twice a week, the divers in their group head out to different parts of the sea and creek to clear them up of the trash.
They said the team members have been cooperating with various government departments to tackle oil spill and drowning cases apart from cleanup initiatives.
There are around 30 divers, including four women in the team.
