Garbage, the enemy that affects areas of aerial trees in Ecuador Susana Madera

"Thinking of a water tree is like thinking of a character in a fantasy tale."This is how the WWF refers to mangroves, those unique forests that live in salty waters, which are home to a wide biodiversity, and many of which battle against an evil that comes from outside: garbage.

For this reason, the European Union (EU) in Ecuador chose the San José beach and mangrove swamp, in the province of Manabí, for a cleaning and awareness campaign about the problems that garbage and, above all, plastics represent for that ecosystem.

Bag in hand and wearing protective gloves, EU delegates, led by its ambassador, Charles-Michel Geurts, as well as Manabí residents (the vast majority of them young), undertook a cleaning day on Friday at the beach and the mangrove San José, located on one side of the so-called Ruta del Sol.

Between the sea and the river there is a beach of about 50 meters. There is the San José mangrove with its two hectares full of exuberant vegetation such as pifitas and climbers, guarumos, balsa, red apple, guava, cactus, ceibo, coconut and aguacatillo, among others.

The area is also inhabited by red and blue footed boobies, herons, frigates, albatrosses and jays.

OWN AND OTHER GARBAGE

As part of the ocean awareness and activism campaign "EU Beach Clean up"organized by the EU around the world, and which in Ecuador celebrated its fourth edition on Friday, this time in Manabí, some 200 volunteers collected cans, lids, nets, plastic bottles, paper, various types of packaging… and even tires.

"Saving the planet begins with the fight against plastic pollution on our beaches, oceans and mangroves."Geurts told EFE, stressing the importance of joining global efforts to conserve nature, but assuming local and individual responsibilities to recycle and "to reduce plastic consumption"in particular, the one for single use.

And precisely in the area, Geurts verified the presence of plastics arrived from distant lands across the sea, but also others for clearly local consumption: forks, glasses, bottles, "and worryingly a lot of old plastic in various states of decay making recovery very difficult".

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"It has to be done by hand, and sometimes the fingers are too big"to collect microplastics, which also contaminate the food chain, he warned.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Mangroves play a fundamental role in the conservation of various plant and animal species (many of which are endangered) and help to stop the wear and tear of soils, fixing them and preventing sediments from accumulating on the beaches.

They produce a large amount of organic matter, retain sediments, wastes, and toxic substances that flow into the sea, and filter the waters that supply the groundwater table.

Mangroves mitigate climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases, stabilize the local climate and are a source of resources for communities.

And despite their obvious importance, they are affected by pollution, the occupation of their territory, mass tourism, global warming and the overexploitation of their resources.

"We only have one planet, and we have to try to do everything possible so that all ecosystems, and the marine ecosystems that cover 70% of the earth, are protected. Survival is about it, it’s that simple and that dramatic"Luis Gómez Orodea, general coordinator of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID), told EFE during the cleaning day.

Children and young people participated in it, such as Miguel Vinces, who told EFE his "sadness" after having verified the amount of garbage that was in the place.

After collecting a large amount of microplastics "of years"Flor Zambrano, a university student, highlighted the importance of raising awareness, especially for the new generations, while the EU ambassador extended the responsibility to everyone by recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s phrase: "Be the change you want to see in the world".

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