CDB launches ‘Life to Our Beaches’ project extension with a beach clean-up

CDB launches ‘Life to Our Beaches’ project extension with a beach clean-up

• Kickstart to project extension begins at Wellawatte beach, to extend to Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia

• ‘Life to our Beaches’ collaborates with Biodiversity Sri Lanka and Marine Environment Protection Authority

• CDB oversees a total of over 4.5 kilometers of beach

On Sunday the 09th of March, a collective of one hundred members of Team CDB and their families, gathered on the Wellawatte beach for a clean-up, launching the extension to the Company’s ‘Life to Our Beaches’ project. The project which is a collaboration with Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) and Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), comes under the umbrella of CDB’s Conservation and Biodiversity Pillar of its sustainability agenda.

This project extension which began with the clean-up and maintenance of about 900 meters of the Wellawatte beach, will extend to the cleaning and maintenance of the Dehiwala and Mount Lavinia stretches of beach as well. With this extension to the ‘Life to our Beaches’ project, CDB now oversees the maintenance of four stretches of beach spanning over 4.5 kilometers.

Given the commitment of Team CDB and their families in this project, CDB creates awareness of the responsibility of each citizen and the future generation on the importance of coast conservation, mitigating pollution and responsible disposal of plastic and other harmful material. CDB intends to appoint beach caretakers from the economically disadvantaged communities along these coastal belts to clean and maintain these beaches.

Deputy CEO Damith Tennakoon who was among those gathered at the Wellawatte beach, observed that by having the team and their families cleaning up the beach, “We are driving the message home that coast conservation is a collective effort. By directly contributing to this clean-up, they will have that unwavering commitment to be continually aware and gain ownership in environmental conservation, which is about land, air and ocean conservation. Nothing can be done in isolation and if we are to preserve our planet and make it a sustainable home for future generations, each of us has a role to play and a responsibility to sustain.”

CDB’s commitment to the ‘Life to Our Beaches’ project began with the conservation of a 350-meter stretch from Modara to Palwatte in Moratuwa, now in its second year. “With these initiatives, we continue our dedication to preserve Sri Lanka’s coastal belt, which is the lifeblood and livelihood for underprivileged communities along the coastal belt. For us, this is a three-pronged project. First to ensure that the identified beaches are cleaned and maintained, second to ensure that the message of the importance of clean beaches in the coast conservation sphere is vital to sustain life on this planet and third, to ensure that livelihoods of the communities residing on the coast will be sustained, giving them ownership for its cleanliness as the appointed beach caretakers will be one of their own.”