Groups of young people committed to protecting the Tonosí river basin and the Parita River

Fig. 1. Cleaning Búcaro beach with the youth group of the I.P.T.A. of Tonosí, 27 th July 2018.

The 26 th and 27 th July, we participated in the cleaning of beaches organized by the agroecological groups of the I.P.T.A. of Tonosí (Unit for the protection of the environment) and of the I.P.T.A. of Las Minas (Pack of youth captains saving the flora and fauna). The first cleaning was undertaken the 26th July in the beach El Retén together with the group
Las Minas and the 27th July in the beach Búcaro together with the group Tonosí. Moreover, members of the Peace Corps and Tortugas Pedasí also participated.

The objective

Fig. 2. So small and delicate, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths in the ocean

Cleaning the beaches is a major concern for these youth groups because they know the direct impacts within their communities if garbage is thrown into the rivers, given that the stream of the water will transport all the garbage to the beaches, which affects the beauty of the beaches, contaminates the rivers and the ocean, and leads to the death of
thousands of marine species.

Fig. 3. The image shows the map of the river basin of Tonosí, which the youth group of the
I.P.T.A of Tonosí are committed to protect.

The result

Fig. 4. The group of the I.P.T.A. of Tonosí after a day of cleaning beaches, 27 th July
2018.

In the beach El Retén, a total of 15 bags of garbage have been recollected, whereas in the beach Búcaro 11 bags have been recollected. This makes 26 bags of garbage which otherwise would have ended up in the ocean, where a great quantity of marine species would be severely in danger.

Fig. 5. Young adolescents of the I.P.T.A. of Las Minas cleaning the beach El Retén, 25 th July 2018.

The organizers

The creation of the agroecological groups of the I.P.T.A. of Tonosí and Las Minas is an initiative supported by MiAmbiente, F.A.O. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the Ecological Project Azuero, so that they could be young leaders within their respective communities. The aim was to implement activities to raise
awareness in the communities, to conserve the natural resource of the river basins of Tonosí and Parita, agriculture, livestock, and to carry out diverse types of activities in favor of the preservation of the environment, thereby promoting the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals No. 6 (Clean wáter and sanitation), 12 (Responsible consumption and production), 13 (Climate action), 14 (Life below water) y 15 (Life on land).

Pro Eco Azuero