Reef Watch and Olive celebrated Ocean Day at the Olive Bar & Kitchen in Mumbai. The event started with a screening of Reef Watch’s award-winning film, “Troubled Waters”. Many prominent citizens attended the event which was aimed at creating awareness about marine ecosystems. In an informal get-together, Reefwatch presented some facts about the oceans and informed enthusiastic participants about its coastal conservation agenda.

Significant on the agenda is the creating of a Forum to identify the sources of pollution and understand the various factors contributing to the degradation of Mumbai’s waters. In this initiative, we are obtaining representation from Science & Technology, Industry, Municipal Administration, the Pollution Control Board, Port Authorities and Citizens’ groups to define and understand the issues involved, assess principal sources of effluents, review existing norms, seek technology intervention and network on national & international levels for strategy planning. We hope that the synergy among the various departments will, over the coming years, galvanize strategic action to control effluents released into Mumbai’s coastal waters.

Reef Watch described its mission to translate research efforts in the marine sciences to effective conservation measures and awareness campaigns for protecting our coastal environment. Reef Watch emphasized that scientific research is meaningful only when it can make a difference to the lives of people and the environment we live in.