Do you see in the photo people with white shirts flocking all over the beach holding black trash bags? they are not playing a game or something, but cleaningup the beach.
It was on 19 September 2020, around 3:30pm. I also went there after seeing Facebook event notification. It was to commemorate the World Beach Cleanup Day. The activity got support from various national and international organizations, but was organized by Movimento Tasi Mos (MTM) or in English called Movement for Clean Ocean. The activity took place at Dolok Oan beach, behind the Cristo Rei statue.
The MTM group has been proactively advocating and organizing beach cleanup activities in Dili started several years ago. Multiple cleanup activities conducted inviting all elements of the society, government agencies, and even ministers. The first time I saw this movement, I was thinking this is massive and it would become a national movement which is very progressive attitude and action.
In my opinion, the movement is pretty consistent and determined even though there are so many vivid challenges lie right in their eyes. Cleanup after cleanup, but beaches get littered again just within hours; plastics reinstate the beaches like normal days. The movement does not give up though, they keep doing it.
It was Saturday so Dolok Oan visitors came there on day time for picnic and some came later for overnight camping. When we were wandering and collecting trash, it was ironic to see that they did not bother at all to join or at least stop doing their activity. Even the visitors did not care when we asked them to move to get the trash out under their butts. From a moral perspective, if any voluntary action that benefits the public, everyone around should feel ashamed to join. As far as I observe, Dolok Oan beach littering comes from that kind of visitors.
There must be something wrong that makes the effort of cleaningup does not have sustainable effect. Like you, I also see two problems. One is about behavior. The visitors just don't see a clean beach is for their benefit, so they don't care and keep littering, and changing that behavior takes time, you know. Second is about unavailability of trash facilities. In a sense, if people cant find a trash bin nearby where to throw water bottles, they would just let them in the beach. So it is important to put more trash bins and start to install collection bins as well.
But it would be more effective and efficient to invest in trash bins and collection facilities if the Dolok Oan beach has a clear definition of land use plan and initial concept. At least about the basic layout of the area. What kind of tourism activity this area should be for? do you have a sketched layout plan already? For examples, layout of the road, parking area, sidewalks, etc. You can imagine exactly like what we see on the Cristo Rei side. So by knowing the plan, putting the facilities can be more directed and not random, and I think donors or other profit organizations who usually donate trash bins might be interested to provide more.
I also think that the current condition of Dolok Oan makes the visitors might think that there is no value to be disciplined because the area is still isolated from Dili downtown, no certain future development plan yet, no residents, and animals entering the area freely, and at last no trash and collection bins yet. The visitors might still consider Dolok Oan as a periphery which their littering behavior does not have immediate effect, not to mention to the ocean. In addition, the current condition makes it pointless to put the trash facilities randomly into this wide area without any clear space arrangement, at least from the conceptual stage.
So, in order to make the effort of cleaningup the beach at Dolok Oan to have sustainable effect, all stakeholders should start thinking broader and bigger while keep walking the walk. MTM and other groups should start advocating about this to the government. The intention of doing it this way is the incremental effort will be directed to a clear goal in an efficient way. Otherwise, you clean today, it gets littered tomorrow, because, one reason is, you don't provide enough facility to encourage people to be disciplined, but where to put all the facilities? you need a more directed and clear goal in the context of Dolok Oan. You make mistake if you think cleaning up Dolok Oan beach will safe the the whole ocean and tackle global climate change. Don't do something like blind goats walking in the dark. First, please be local, and from local. It is very important!
**Hope this gives you an inspiration.
