You guys will and can write volumes on the litter problem plaguing our beautiful Goan beaches. This has been an ongoing problem for over 15 years. It so happens that we are currently an exponential growth of tourists descending on Goa during the peak Christmas/New Year season. These tourist have no civic sense nor care on how they spew their garbage. Most of them are in a drunken stupor half the time. As far as enforcement that is a "pie in the sky " issue.
These studies will remain in print only. Ron -----Original Message----- From: Goanet-News <goanet-news-boun...@lists.goanet.org> On Behalf Of Goanet Reader Sent: January 11, 2022 2:00 PM To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! <goanet@lists.goanet.org> Subject: [Goanet-News] Goa's beaches filled with liquor bottles, footwear, other waste post-Covid, finds GU study | Goa News - Times of India Goa news, Goa latest news, Goa news live, Goa news today, PANAJI: Goa's popular beaches were besieged by glass and other waste after easing of Covid-19 norms, as post-lockdown, tourists and others hit the bottle with vengeance. Palolem topped with a 3,103% increase in glass waste while Calangute had a 559% increase in litter. These are findings of a two-phased study by Goa University (GU) researchers and others to assess the quantum and composition of waste on eight beaches in May 2020 during the lockdown and in January 2021, after easing of restrictions. The survey found an exponential increase in beach litter. A part of it may have come from the sea or rivers. After Goa's beaches became notorious as the most littered ones, recently implemented initiatives for better beach management have made a difference, the researchers said. "Litter density changes between two surveys (May 2020 and January 2021) was highest for Calangute followed by Baina 281%, Miramar-Caranzalem 234%, Morjim 223% and Velsao and Colva 134-136%. Surprisingly it was -6.7 for Siridao," the study stated. Researchers from National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), ministry of earth sciences, Vasco, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula and Ryerson University, Canada carried out the study under supervision of GU's School of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences (SEOAS) professor Kotha Mahender. After a long lull, the increase in tourist footfalls transformed the beaches into a sea of bottles, discarded footwear, rubber, metal and plastic. A recent video showing a heavily-littered Baga beach sparked outrage on social media, but the study by PhD scholar Ritwik Nigam of SEOAS indicated that binge drinking on beaches overshadowed the tourists' complacent behaviour, as intoxication or sheer callousness meant footwear litter increased by 429% on Colva beach. "Glass is becoming a big threat to the beach ecosystem and its density is nudging out even plastic as a nuisance," Alvarinho Luis, co-author and NCPOR scientist said. "Rubber showed a huge 2,140% increase on the scenic Palolem beach while metal and thermocol showed a decrease by over 70%. "Local fishermen accounted for the metal and thermocol in beach litter and this had reduced due to the curtailment of fishing activities during lockdown," Luis said. "For plastic litter exceeding 2kg per sqm of transect of 100m along shore chosen for sampling, Colva beach receiving a significant share in increase of tourists to eight million in 2019 ranked first. It was followed by Miramar-Caranzalem, Baina, Siridao and Calangute. The quantum of packaging materials like thermocol stuck out at Velsao, Siridao, Baina and Colva as litter was more than 100gm per transect. "But on the positive side, Goa's waste management has shown an improvement," Mahender said. "Goa being an attractive destination in south east Asia attracted 8 million tourists in 2019 and it shows in the litter density on beaches. But the state has improved as per recent ratings in managing litter pollution due to government's recent initiatives," he said. While anthropogenic stressors are disastrous for marine aquatic life, the study has strongly emphasized segregation at source as the best solution to reduce damage. "A team comprising local residents, social work groups, college students and NGOs can be mobilised as volunteers to undertake beach monitoring and help the administration in keeping beaches clean," the study states. Consumption of liquor on beaches has triggered an increase in beach drownings in the recent past. "Strict implementation of beach discipline will further reduce litter and this in turn saves the expenditure involved for beach management," Mahender said. https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftimesofindia.indiatimes.com%2Fcity%2Fgoa%2Fgoas-beaches-filled-with-broken-glasses-other-waste-finds-gu-study%2Farticleshow%2F88819657.cms&data=04%7C01%7Cronald.noronha%40ec.gc.ca%7Ce6883a3452f64a90a1e908d9d534c2ad%7C740c5fd36e8b41769cc9454dbe4e62c4%7C0%7C0%7C637775245426618996%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=cv9ONcJqbLoUDLWcwfOp1ZFP064aXCZ%2BRax8d68tp5o%3D&reserved=0 https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftimesofindia.indiatimes.com%2Farticleshow%2F88819657.cms%3Futm_source%3Dcontentofinterest%26utm_medium%3Dtext%26utm_campaign%3Dcppst&data=04%7C01%7Cronald.noronha%40ec.gc.ca%7Ce6883a3452f64a90a1e908d9d534c2ad%7C740c5fd36e8b41769cc9454dbe4e62c4%7C0%7C0%7C637775245426618996%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=M0AOeWgplLVGlOmVrpwAlgSWiT0WW4RbHHyBMuWT00o%3D&reserved=0 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Join a discussion on Goa-related issues by posting your comments on this or other issues via email to goa...@goanet.org See archives at https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.goanet.org%2Fpipermail%2Fgoanet-goanet.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cronald.noronha%40ec.gc.ca%7Ce6883a3452f64a90a1e908d9d534c2ad%7C740c5fd36e8b41769cc9454dbe4e62c4%7C0%7C0%7C637775245426618996%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=HtZKtVOHk7ekLEB9UYWlso1%2FUPxdy4nPcmOhQ6eVn%2Bk%3D&reserved=0 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
