Littering at sea and on beaches continues to be a major challenge for the Islands of The Bahamas as garbage is swept ashore or left behind, spoiling the beauty that attract millions of visitors to the country.

The Ministry of Tourism, celebrating the first ever Caribbean Tourism Month, invited the Bahamas National Coastal Awareness Committee to joined forces with residents of Acklins for a beach clean-up recently. Caribbean Tourism Month is being celebrated under the theme: One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean. 

The crew of volunteers successfully cleaned up two beaches on Acklins – Mason’s Bay Beach and Hard Hill Beach.   As part of the exercise, the Coastal Awareness Committee surveys the amount and type of garbage collected.  In total 4,221 items were gathered from both beaches; the top five debris items were 813 plastic bottles (2 liters or less), 264 ropes, 250 caps and lids, 350 plastic bags and 913 glass bottles.

 “We want to ensure that persons throughout the Caribbean recognize the important role tourism plays to the economic development of the region,” Mr. Earlston McPhee, Director of Sustainable Tourism Planning and Development said. “And the most important aspects are our people and the environment, which is critical to the long term sustainability of tourism.”

Mr. McPhee said exit surveys reveal that visitors choose The Bahamas over other destinations primarily because of the pristine beaches. 

Part of the Coastal Awareness Committee’s focus within the last two years has been assisting small communities like Acklins to maintain their marine environment.   Acklins has a population of 635 residents and only 300 of them are adults.

“The most important thing is not us coming and cleaning up the beaches, but working in collaboration with local government, the local administrator and the community to clean-up the beaches of our islands,” Mr. McPhee said.

He added that he was most grateful to the corporate sponsors that help to fund these clean-up efforts and said it would not be possible without them, particularly the Royal Bank of Canada.   The local communities pitch-in as well; in Acklins, Ivels Bed and Breakfast, local government and various members of the community participated, making the initiative a success.

The island administrator in Acklins, Stephen Wilson, was on the job for only three months at the time of the campaign.  Mr. Wilson said he feels the beach transformation exercise is a wonderful initiative that brings awareness to the residents and encourages them to keep the beaches clean.

He pointed out that the beaches on the Atlantic side of the island are not regularly visited by the residents, and the garbage, mostly plastic bottles, washing ashore are from vessels traveling by.