JEDDAH, 25 November 2002 — For a whole weekend twice every year, members of the Filipino Scuba Divers’ Association organize a beach cleanup at its own expense on Jeddah’s Corniche and Obhur Creek.

Michael Mariano, founder of the association and a diving instructor, told Arab News that last week his group removed over two tons of litter.

“The south Corniche is an especially difficult place to clean. Because there aren’t any trash containers, the trash ends up in the water.”

Local dive centers and merchants occasionally sponsor the event and several dive stores have pledged to sponsor future cleanups.

“A Saturday morning walk along the Corniche reveals the pollution and destruction left behind by weekend picnickers,” Mariano continued. “Bags of trash, Styrofoam containers, diapers, empty cans and bottles are among some of the items left blowing in the wind. The ‘Baladiyah’ workers clean up a majority of this refuse from the sidewalks and the fishing piers, but some of it makes its way into the water and pollutes the reefs and sea floor. Marine litter is created in this way, consisting of items that have been made or used by people and then discarded or lost. In most cases, it is the result of carelessly throwing things away.”

The Red Sea is the premier scuba diving destination of the world for its abundant marine life, exceptional visibility and warm waters. Running along the Saudi Arabian western coastline for approximately 2,000 km, it draws tens of thousands of visitors annually.

According to John Randall, a marine biologist with the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, littering, coral and shell collecting and spear fishing are the most common activities that result in destruction.

“This endangers the very life of the coral reefs as they are slowly suffocated by this deluge of refuse. The corals are living organisms that feed on free floating particles that land on them. The increase in sediment and refuse covers the corals thereby preventing them from feeding. Some types of coral grow only three millimeters per year. The larger specimens have been growing for hundreds of years. Sadly, these coral reefs are killed in a matter of months at an alarming rate and will take hundreds of years to regenerate,” said Hans Sjoeholm, a 15-year-veteran of Red Sea diving and a course director with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).

According to Jeffrey Buchanan, a veteran diver of Saudi waters, coastal construction is rampant and there is absolutely no concern for damage caused to the Red Sea reefs. Any construction along the coast affects reefs and visibility for 20 to 30 kilometers in all directions. In addition, Buchanan states that the authorities show little concern or control over this.

“The pollution is evident to the thousands of scuba divers who dive off the Saudi coastline every year,” Sjoeholm told Arab News. “As a result, virgin reefs are getting harder and harder to find. Those diving from the Corniche describe the underwater world there as a ‘ghost town’. Damaged coral heads, hundreds of submersed pieces of trash and a lack of marine life are just a few of the effects divers see.”

Sjoeholm added that several international diving training organizations are trying to raise awareness about environmental issues through the proper training and education of divers and beachgoers. Sjoeholm explains that, with growing evidence of destruction, diving instructors are educating their students on the impact of irresponsibility and carelessness on the fragile underwater ecosystem.

The majority of scuba divers in Saudi Arabia are certified through at least one of several international scuba diver training organizations, the largest of which is PADI. From the beginner’s open water diver certification course, all the way up to and including the instructor development course training program, PADI puts a great deal of awareness on environmental protection and awareness. As a student goes through the course he sees photos and videos of the underwater environment as it should be from training videos recorded in dive locations around the world.

A diving instructor who wishes not to be identified told Arab News that the authorities have banned divers from diving in certain areas of the Corniche. Some of those sites have been closed and underwater photography is banned.

So while the beaches and coral reefs are being slowly destroyed by local picnickers, corporations and various private and government entities, this group of Filipino expatriates continue to fight for the preservation of one of the world’s most beautiful natural resources.