The Parley Global Cleanup Network works to protect marine environments from plastic pollution and other threats. Through collaborative cleanups with local businesses and organisations, our teams intercept plastic waste from beaches, remote islands, rivers, mangroves and coastal communities. With cleanups in 30 countries so far and counting, the Network also works on local education, awareness campaigns and government engagement to drive change.
Each country team shares our vision for healthier oceans globally, and works locally to champion the Parley AIR Strategy in their nation. As of 2021, Parley has worked with over 750 collaborators, engaged over 260,000 volunteers and conducted more than 4500 cleanups worldwide.
Building on our work in the Maldives, neighboring Sri Lanka became our second key country in South Asia in 2018. Since then, Parley Sri Lanka has organized cleanups, conducted educational outreach and signed a formal agreement with MEPA – the country’s Marine Environment Protection Authority.
“The once vibrant oceans around us are now in a dire state, but I feel hopeful every time I see our volunteers at work. They are a constant reminder that every individual in a society has the potential to bring about change.”
– Irushinie Wedage, Parley Sri Lanka
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Featured Projects
Beach and coastal cleanups
Since November 2018, Parley Sri Lanka has conducted over 100 cleanups in different parts of the country, intercepting over 15,650kg of marine debris in collaboration with an array of central and local government agencies, local NGOs, private businesses as well as waste management and logistics partners. Each event is usually coupled with brief awareness sessions and creative engagement activities – providing an ocean learning opportunity for volunteers.
MEPA collaboration
In October of 2019, Parley Sri Lanka signed a long-term partnership with the country’s Marine Environment Protection Authority aimed at protecting and preserving Sri Lanka’s marine environments. Be it overfishing, pollution or habitat loss, the oceans around the country are under more serious threat than ever before. Parley’s partnership with MEPA will be the start of a long-term journey that includes research, education, beach and ocean cleanups as well as eco-innovations. The collaboration brings together both global and local expertise on many levels to support Sri Lanka in achieving global marine conservation goals.
“As the responsible government agency for preventing, controlling and managing marine pollution, we are delighted to announce our collaboration with Parley for the Oceans,” declared Dr. P B Terney Pradeep Kumara, General Manager/ Chief Executive Officer of MEPA. “We are excited to work with Parley to address marine conservation issues, especially the issue of marine plastics, in Sri Lankan waters, building on their knowledge base and international experiences to ensure a healthy marine environment for future generations”.
Education
Youth are a key pillar of Parley’s global movement for the oceans, and education is a vital part of our work in Sri Lanka. As part of this ongoing effort, the team ran an awareness programme on ocean plastic pollution at the historic Galle Dutch Fort – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There were over 50 participants including schoolchildren and teachers at this outdoor classroom for the oceans. Cleaning up, waste segregation and weighing gave the participants insights about the severity of the issue of marine plastic pollution. They learned first-hand about the common pollutants, sources of pollution and the impact of marine waste. As Irushinie Wedage explains, “It was a great way to connect the volunteers with the oceans and to make them understand how their actions, both good and bad, can affect the oceans”.
Coming together
3 religions, 1000 volunteers, 750 youth and more than 2 tons of waste intercepted
For our first Sri Lanka beach cleanup we partnered with a religious organization called Caritas-SEDEC. All the priests from around the area invited their communities to come together in an effort to minimize plastic use and clean up Crow Island Beach in Colombo. The Christian ministers invited Hindu and Buddhist priests to do the same, and as regional coordinator Oona Layolle explains, “It was inspiring to see that facing such a terrible issue as plastic pollution, all religions came together. It gave me hope because no matter the faith, country, or any other difference, when it comes to our environment we are all concerned.”
Fearless Collective x Parley
In the run-up to COP27, Parley Sri Lanka collaborated with Fearless Collective to help amplify women’s voices as narrators to the current global environmental crisis, honoring the deep and intimate connections between women and the earth. In an effort to highlight the lives and experiences of women in Negombo, Sri Lanka, Fearless and Parley worked with Shri Vimukthi Fisherwomen Organization, associated with the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement.
Through a workshop and mural painting led by Fearless and supported by Parley, the project explored the relationship between generations of fisherwomen and the ocean, their dependence on the water for their livelihoods, the repercussions of the X-Press Pearl Shipping disaster, and their unseen leadership in response to the impacts of global threats include climate change, large-scale industrial fishing activity, and plastic pollution. Unveiled to the public on October 16th with a community feast and celebration, the completed Negombo mural draws from the women’s personal lived experiences and their stories about the ocean that have been passed down for generations, and embodies their dreams for their community.
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THANK YOU TO OUR COLLABORATORS IN SRI LANKA
Marine Environment Protection Authority – MEPA
Sri Lanka Navy
Green Building Council of Sri Lanka
Royal College
Leo Clubs - Gampaha Metro and Mattegoda
Sri Lanka Coast Guard
Earth Lanka
Omega Line
Ashley Davis Collective
National Cleaner Production Centre
Horizon Campus
Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association
Center for Beach Cleanups
National School of Business Management
AIESEC
Zonta Club III of Colombo
INSEE Ecocycle Lanka (Private) Limited
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon
Volunteer Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Saukyadana Movement
Caritas Sri Lanka – SEDEC
Freedom Surf School
Ananta Sustainables
W15-Weligama
Clear Ocean Pact
Dreamsea Surf Camp
Elsewhere Surf Camps
Dikwella Resort & Spa
Jetwing Lighthouse
University of Ruhuna
Ceyline Shipping
Eco Spindles
