STORY: PLASTICS PLEA
HEADLINE: MALDIVES MAYOR’S IMPASSIONED PLEA TO WORLD - STOP USING SINGLE USE PLASTICS.
NEWSROOM READY VERSION
DURATION: 3.25
SOURCE: NEKTON
RESTRICTIONS: FREE ACCESS ALL PLATFORMS IN PERPETUITY/ NO ARCHIVE RESALES. MANDATORY ON SCREEN CREDIT: “COURTESY OF NEKTON”
STORYLINE – Newsroom Ready
The mayor of one of the Maldives most far-flung islands has issued an impassioned plea to the world to behave as responsible citizens and stop using single use plastic.
Ismail Rafeeq leads the people of Fuvahmulah – permanent population 11,000 - where the community mounts regular beach campaigns to remove tons of plastic discarded by locals and washed up on shore from other countries.
SOUNDBITE: Ismail Rafeeq, Fuvahmulah Mayor (ENGLISH): “Wherever in the world you live please ,you know, stop putting (discarding) plastics , stop throwing away waste and be a responsible citizen, develop a green lifestyle ,you know , consider the environment. If we treat the environment badly it will come back to haunt us.”
The mayor fears plastic on the beaches means microplastics are present in the sea and in the fish his people eat.
He wants Nekton scientists sampling the country‘s waters on a 35 - day mission to supply data that can change public behaviours and make them think twice before dumping plastic.
SOUNDBITE: Ismail Rafeeq, Fuvahmulah Mayor (ENGLISH): “If you (Nekton) can help us tell the people that the water on Fuvahmulah has microplastics the fish you eat has microplastics. I think then it is very important point for us, for us to help the people to change their lifestyle. So hopefully they will stop throwing plastics into the ocean. They will hopefully reduce or stop single use plastic.”
Across the Maldives extensive efforts are underway to collect, separate and recycle plastics and only burn waste which cannot be re-processed.
On tiny Dhonfanu Island the women’s development group has a message to other countries that whilst recycling is good, reducing plastics use is better.
SOUNDBITE Shahumeena, Women’s Development Committee (Dhivehi): "Other countries of the world should reduce the production of plastics, then the (volume of) plastics that end up in the Maldives will be reduced; that is what we would request.”
The community on nearby Maalhos is gradually replacing single use plastic with glass, bottling its own drinking water from desalinated seawater for the residents of four nearby islands.
At Soneva Fushi, the Maldives Eco resort that has supported efforts across nearby islands to foster a culture of recycling, they lead by example. Plastic bottles which once held washing detergent are transformed on site into useful kitchen utensils.
SOUNDBITE (English) Amritansh, Waste to Wealth Manager (ENGLISH): “After compressing it into sheets we cut into desired shape ,whatever shape that we want to give, okay? So from that sheet we cut this into a chopping board.”
Inspiring the next generation to love the ocean by teaching youngsters to swim is part of the Soneva foundation’s philosophy – the hope is the children will grow up to also protect the ocean. Swim instructor Nadeem knows all too well the scale of the plastic problem.He works at the local waste management centre in Kihadhoo and is on a personal mission to inspire .
SOUNDBITE Nadeem (English) Swimming Instructor (ENGLISH): “To do that work, we need to educate the children. We need to teach them how the situation is now. The thing is now it's very bad situation for us because of plastic in the ocean”
Scientists on the international Nekton Mission will discover the true scale of the Maldives plastics problem over the next 35 days when they sample the waters off its coast, in partnership with a team of aquanauts from the country’s marine research institute.
CONSUMER READY VERSION
DURATION: 1.39
SOURCE: NEKTON
RESTRICTIONS: FREE ACCESS ALL PLATFORMS IN PERPETUITY/ NO ARCHIVE RESALES.
3 VERSIONS: 16:9, 1:1, 9:16 – Available at www.apmultimedianewsroom.com/nekton
STORYLINE
The mayor of one of the Maldives most far-flung islands has issued an impassioned plea to the world to behave as responsible citizens and stop using single use plastic.
Ismail Rafeeq leads the people of Fuvahmulah – permanent population 11,000 - where the community mounts regular beach campaigns to remove tons of plastic discarded by locals and washed up on shore from other countries.
SHOTLIST - Newsroom ready version
1, Aerial pullback from Fuvahmulah beach to plastic mountain
2. Plastic bottle on beach
3. Plastic bottles amongst flotsam on beach
4. Close up Fuvahmulah Mayor
5, Waves lapping
5 Mayor walks along shoreline
6.SOUNDBITE: Ismail Rafeeq, Fuvahmulah Mayor (ENGLISH): “Wherever in the world you live please ,you know, stop putting (discarding) plastics , stop throwing away waste and be a responsible citizen, develop a green lifestyle ,you know , consider the environment. If we treat the environment badly it will come back to haunt us.”
7.Waves lapping
8.Tuna being cut on slab at Fuvahmulah Fish Market
9. SOUNDBITE: Ismail Rafeeq, Fuvahmulah Mayor (ENGLISH): “If you (Nekton) can help us tell the people that the water on Fuvahmulah has microplastics the fish you eat has microplastics. I think then it is very important point for us, for us to help the people to change their lifestyle. So hopefully they will stop throwing plastics into the ocean. They will hopefully reduce or stop single use plastic.”
10. Household waste and plastics waste at collection centre in Fuvahmulah
11. Non-plastic waste, which cannot be recycled ,being burned under controlled conditions on Dhonfanu Island
12. Walking shot Dhonfanu Island women’s group president
13. SOUNDBITE Shahumeena, Women’s Development Committee (Dhivehi): "Other countries of the world should reduce the production of plastics, then the (volume of) plastics that end up in the Maldives will be reduced; that is what we would request.”
14. Bottles being delivered and filled at Maalhos Island glass bottling plant as replacement for plastic ones
15. Aerial Soneva Fushi eco-resort
16. Soneva Fushi Waste to Wealth Eco Hub panning shot
17. Plastic bottles being shredded
18 Bottles after being compressed back into solid state
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Amritansh, Waste to Wealth Hub Manager (ENGLISH): “After compressing it into sheets we cut into desired shape ,whatever shape that we want to give, okay? So from that sheet we cut this into a chopping board.”
20. Children learning to swim in project run by Soneva’s Namoona Foundation at Kihaadhoo Harbour
21.Children smiling, crouched in water
22. Swimming instructor Nadeem showing children stretching exercise before the swim with floats
23. SOUNDBITE Nadeem (English) Swimming Instructor (ENGLISH): “To do that work, we need to educate the children. We need to teach them how the situation is now. The thing is now it's very bad situation for us because of plastic in the ocean”
24. Boy swimmers going through class swimming drills - surface and aerial shot
To download the media briefing in full, please click through on the link below:
8 September 2022
