It is estimated that every minute, one full garbage truck of plastic trash is dumped into the sea. That is 1,440 trucks every day and 8 billon kilos per year. With that, ocean pollution is posing an immediate threat to marine life.

Currently, marine debris are collected daily from Singapore coastal waters which spread across 120km of coastline and around 200km² of sea space.

Marine debris is typically a mix of natural and man-made debris.

Natural debris consists of tree trunk, branches, leaves, twigs, seaweed, animal carcasses, barnacles, etc.

Man-made debris consists of common household consumable items (plastic bottles, plastic cups, takeaway containers, plastic straws, food wrappers, shampoo bottles, containers, etc…) and used industrial items (pontoons, plastic drums, ropes, shipwrecks, cargos, structures, etc…)

All Clear believes that action is needed at the root of the ocean pollution problem – such as the lack of proper waste management infrastructure. This is why they have set out to empower these rural, inland communities with the tools they need to change how they perceive and discard their waste. By providing them with the capability to turn their plastic waste into something useable again, they are able to help facilitate a circular economy and give plastic waste a second life.

Scientific studies have shown that Mangroves sequester carbon at a rate 2-4 times greater than mature tropical forest. Mangroves are also key to coastal ecosystems by hosting a large biodiversity and also serving flooding and storm proteection.

The trees are planted on Biak Island in Indonesia. susGain partners with Eden Reforestation Projects, a registered US non-profit, which exists to alleviate extreme poverty through environmental stewardship.

Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet and home to about 23% of the world’s mangrove forests. However, in the last 50 years, Indonesia has lost over 40% of its mangrove forests. It is also consistently ranked in the top three countries for the highest rate of deforestation. The effects of deforestation have significantly impacted indigenous communities, who are often the first to feel the negative effects of climate change.

Each mangrove tree planted by Eden Reforestation Projects removes over 308kg (680lbs) of CO 2 from the atmosphere over the 25 years growth life of the tree.

Eden Reforestation Projects makes every effort to ensure the forest they plant becomes permanent and sustainable. Towards this end, they have implemented the following steps:

• They work carefully with all levels of the government to secure written agreements designating the restoration sites as protected in perpetuity.
• They do not plant in logging areas. There is never a 100% guarantee that some form of illegal harvest will not occur. However, they do everything within legal limits to ensure the restoration sites are guaranteed to stand in perpetuity.
• They hire locals to plant the trees. In this way, they alleviate extreme poverty within the impacted community. The community members now have an economic incentive to ensure the well-being of the restoration project. They also have a sense of “ownership” over the trees and restored forest, and they protect it with great care.
• They plant agroforestry species (fruit, fodder, and construction species designed to provide food security and benefit legitimate human needs). Over time these trees become a source of sustainable income.
• They do all possible to supply the locals with alternative fuel sources (fuel-efficient dry wood stoves and solar parabolic stoves), which reduces and/or eliminates their dependence on charcoal.
• They hire forest guards as part of the labor force.

The State Governments of India partner with NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement the Mid-Day Meal Programme in order to increase the number of children they reach out to.

Akshaya Patra runs its operations through two kitchen models: Centralised and Decentralised.

Centralised kitchens are large factory-like kitchen units that have the capacity to typically cook up to 100,000 meals a day. These kitchens serve a set of schools located around the units. These units are semi-automated thus ensuring hygiene during the cooking process.

Locations where factors like unfavourable geographical terrain and improper road connectivity don’t support the construction of large infrastructure, decentralised kitchen are set up. Decentralised kitchen units are run by women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the guidance and supervision of Akshaya Patra’s kitchen process and operations module.

At Akshaya Patra, the menu is designed and implemented after taking into consideration various factors, including regional palate, taste, and flavours. Menu diversity is achieved by using a wide variety of seasonal vegetables and locally available ingredients. Their menu planning incorporates a range of flavours with a variety of spices, condiments, vegetables, and staple groups.

• Improving the nuturitional status of children facing food insecurity.
• Encouraging disadvantaged children to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.
• Providing nutritional support to children in case of climate emergencies such as floods or droughts.

One of the primary causes of hunger across India is widespread poverty. More than 20% of India’s population lives on less than $1.25 per day. This lack of money makes it so that many cannot get enough of the nutritious food they need. Another cause is a lack of access to food.

In recent year, with the economic conditions worsening due to the panedmic and global food supplies disrupted, malnutrition in children has been rising sharply across India.