“Promoting a sustainable and climate resilient blue economy” is one of the priorities identified by the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) under the India G20 Presidency.  

The 3^rd ECSWG meeting (21-23 May) will kick off with a G20 Mega Beach Clean Up event, being organised on 21st May in Mumbai, from 7 AM for two hours. The event will be organised in Juhu Beach, Mumbai and will be attended by G20 delegates participating in the 3^rd ECSWG meeting.  As part of efforts to enhance awareness and sensitize citizens on the role of community participation in tackling the challenges of climate change, this campaign by ESWG is planned by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in collaboration with Ministry of Earth Sciences and with active participation of Indian Coastal States/UTs and other G20 countries.  

The beach cleaning campaign will take place across more than 30 beaches in 9 Coastal States and 4 Union Territories. With the support of Indian Embassies/Consulates, beach cleaning campaign is also being organised in more than 20 countries including G20 and invited countries under Indian G20 presidency. 

Various activities for creating awareness and to sensitize the local communities are also planned by the local administrations which includes inter-school painting competition, pledge for conservation of marine ecosystem, promotion of waste recycling etc. To enhance the outreach for awareness, Sand-Art by Padma Awardee Sri Sudarshan Patnaik is also planned at Juhu Beach, Mumbai. An all-India inter-school painting competition has been organised with participation of more than 5900 students, with the aim to raise awareness about the impacts of marine waste on the environment and encourage people to take action for preventing it.

Fostering sustainable lifestyle that is in harmony with the Environment, through LiFE Mission, - a visionary call by  Prime Minister is also being promoted through the beach cleaning campaign. The concept of 'LiFE' (Lifestyle for Environment) championed by India will play an essential role in this event, which focuses on individual responsibility and behaviour change to tackle environmental issues. The overall objective of the campaign is to bring in JANBAGIDARI (Community participation) among the public at large to achieve the objective of LiFE – Lifestyle for Environment.

Acknowledging the importance of community participation, more than 10,000 volunteers will be participating in this campaign involving multiple stakeholders, including local communities, governments, local administrations, private organisations/ corporates and NGOs working for conservation and management of coastal ecosystem.  This is one of the largest ‘Jan Bhagidari’ campaign under the G20 India Presidency. India also seeks to enhance cooperation among G20 nations to promote sustainable management of oceans, and marine biodiversity conservation. The Beach Cleaning campaign is a testament to India's commitment to preserving coastal and marine life under the G20 India Presidency, in addressing environmental issues and promoting a sustainable future.

The Mega Beach Clean Up campaign in Mumbai will be followed by deliberations on the Ocean20 dialogue - a platform to share best practices on science, technology and innovation, policy, governance and participation, and blue finance mechanisms to ensure a sustainable and a climate resilient Blue economy.

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MJPS