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TOGETHER AGAINST MARINE DEBRIS



  • Date:
    30 Apr 2020
  • Author:
    KEHATI

Divers Clean Action is an Indonesian youth NGO and Community focusing on marine debris issues, who have been researching on marine debris data with various universities as their partner, coastal community development facilitators, the environmental collaborating program with diving institutions, campaigns and training since late 2015 with more than 1000 volunteers across Indonesia.

 

Started as a diver community and marine lover, DCA born because of the concern on marine debris problems in Indonesia. Marine is an important part of earth because it is a source for oxygen, foods, water, medicines, tourism, also many more that the rise of marine debris will jeopardize all of it. Two years since its existence, in 2017, DCA officially became the non-government organization and now has 10 full-time staff. For some programs, they give chances for everyone to become volunteers. Everybody can be a DCA volunteer as long as committed and having the same vision which is to fight against marine debris for sustainable marine.

 

There are some projects in Kepulauan Seribu, North Jakarta, which DCA collaborates with the local government, community, and private party to minimizing the impact of unmanaged waste. They also give tools to sort the waste and doing community development for the local community such as kids, youth community, waste bank, community welfare, and tourism group. DCA also has partners in every province in Indonesia and 11 South East Asia Countries that had given the training to manage marine debris problems in their own place.

 

DCA has two ways of doing things, regular program and incidental program. In general, DCA activities are divided into Research & Cleanup, Campaign & Workshop, Community Development, and CSR/EPR Collaborator. Routinely, DCA collects data and guiding communities in small islands, also monitoring partners. DCA also doing campaigns for schools, exhibitions, workshops, and collaborate with other organizations/communities for their programs.

 

DCA managed to convince the private sector to decrease single-use plastic waste from its sources, such as #NoStrawMovement program that has started since 2016. DCA also contributes to waste management in small islands with involving the local government and the private sector. The program is called #Bottle2Fashion which is making plastic waste become the world fashion product.

 

Collaboration from multi-stakeholders is needed for marine debris problems. DCA and KEHATI Foundation with the support of USAID MWRP initiate the Save Our Small Islands (SOSIS) program in Kepulauan Seribu to monitor waste management. The program contributes to reducing and managing waste from marine tourism. Sustainable tourism programs were developed, such as Eco-trip, Zero-waste catering, and Mooring Buoy that reusing scraps.

 

The results of DCA research also used as a reference for Kepulauan Seribu Waste Management Program to create Clean Kepulauan Seribu in 2025. Together with the volunteers, DCA became a place for more than 14 youth communities to start the waste management in small islands and impacting 11.000 beneficiaries through the Indonesian Youth Marine Debris Summit Program. The goal of the DCA program is to develop a database for waste management in coastal and small islands under the www.marinedebris.id.

 

The website could be used to promote scientific citizenship and also collecting the data for the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). With the SOSIS program, they expect the program would be a model for integrated waste management in small islands. They hope the number of youth as a motor for fighting against marine debris movement will increase to create clean Ind