I hope everyone who cares about the environment starts working towards making this earth a better place to live in for us and also for our future generations.

My name is Sainath Manikandan.

I am 10-years-old and from GEMS United Indian School in Abu Dhabi.

I am a member of Emirates Environmental Group and an ambassador of Drop It Youth.

I aim to encourage the use of paper bags and cloth/jute bags in my community and school.

I want to motivate more and more people to discard the use of plastics which is harmful not only to humanity but also to marine species.

I use my artistic talent to spread the message among my friends.

And I bet you never even heard of Goumbook.

The company is a social enterprise that promotes green practices for environmentally conscious people and businesses across the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region.

Goumbook has launched a nationwide awareness campaign called Drop It Youth urging students to rally against single-use plastic.

Goumbook and its supporting partners include Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi, Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Eco-schools and Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wildlife Fund.

They will empower the ambassadors and campaign among their communities and schools to reduce and remove all single-use plastic from everyday life.

Tatiana Antonelli Abella, founder of Goumbook said: “Tomorrow’s leaders have to be equipped for tomorrow’s challenges, and it is our duty to prepare them for the future they will inherit.”

I want to convince people to stop using single-use plastic bottles, cups, bags and straws. People should switch to filtered tap water as plastic pollution is not only impacting our waters (rivers, seas and oceans) and marine life, but also the human food chain and our overall health.

As an Emirates Environmental Group member, I collect recycling materials such as newspapers, magazines, old textbooks, notebooks, plastic bottles, aluminum cans.

I organize various campaigns in my school and community and urge my fellow classmates in joining in these campaigns. I am doing “PEPC campaign” for collecting papers, electronic wastes, plastics and cans.

I strongly believe “Together we can create a wave of change”

I hope everyone who cares about the environment starts working towards making this earth a better place to live in for us and for our future generations.

I had participated in “Innovator 2018” and showcased my innovation, M-Bot Cleaner (Marine Robot Cleaner).

I found that plastics in the oceans break down into small particles that affect the marine environment and when we eat fish, we eat plastic.

In order to prevent it, my M Bot Cleaner robot will collect the floating wastes from the water surfaces and protect the marine species.

The purpose of my project is to preserve our marine environment.

I am working towards Sustainable Development Goal SDG 14 – Life under Water, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

We live on a blue planet, with oceans and seas covering more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. Oceans feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen we breathe.

Oceans are facing threats as a result of human activity. Every year, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the world’s oceans.

Let’s take an online pledge at www.dropityouth.org and make an environmental impact and help create a wave of change!

Rethink Plastic – Save our Seas!!!

Watch: Meet Julia Grifferty, Chief Drop It Youth ambassador

Sainath Manikandan is a 10-year-old Drop It Youth Ambassador. He is also an active member of Emirates Environmental Group which works to protect, conserve and preserve the earth’s resources and reduce, reuse and recycle wastes and “Say No to plastics.”