Muscat: The Environment Society of Oman (ESO) is kicking off the new year with the launch of the It’s Time campaign, a year-long initiative designed to promote the adoption of environmentally conscious community behaviors across Oman.

Coinciding with Oman Environment Day on the 8th January, the campaign is focused on three key issues affecting the Sultanate’s environment and its communities: litter, single-use plastics and recycling.

As well as a prolonged social media campaign, the organisation will be holding a number of workshops, panel discussions, clean-up events, competitions, and awards, aiming to engage communities in environmental causes, raise funds and educate and inspire people on the benefits of adopting sustainable behaviors.

Among the activities is a quarterly Environmental Heroes award to celebrate individuals and companies who are making a noteworthy contribution to Oman’s environmental preservation.

Furthermore, the Wa’ai Award will challenge 15 to 25-year-olds to create their own content in the form of short films, short stories, or infographics, with an aim to motivate the community to adopt habits that promote sustainable lifestyles.

Meanwhile, the Young Environmentalists programme will offer free interactive workshops for children under the same theme.

“As nations move towards reducing the use of single-use plastics and with Oman’s Ministerial Resolution 23/2020 to ban single-use shopping bags from January 2021, we believe that ‘It’s Time’ for a more aware and environmentally conscious society.

“This timely campaign will demonstrate the size and scale of the three key issues we are targeting; litter, single-use plastics and recycling, provide a platform to share encouraging messaging and serve as a call to action for communities to join us in cleaning up Oman,” said Sayyida Tania bint Shabib Al Said, President of the Environment Society of Oman.

“We are committed to working hard in the pursuit of encouraging the adoption of environmentally sustainable behaviours across Oman, but we cannot do it without the support of the community.

“I would encourage everyone to think about individual actions they can take in their own lives to positively impact Oman’s Environment because together we can make a difference – It’s Time,” she added.

As the country’s only non-profit organisation dedicated to the environment, ESO has spent the last 16 years working to protect Oman’s environment and its wildlife. Aside from a variety of research and conservation projects, it continues to introduce new and innovative ways to educate and engage the local community and affect behavioral change.

For more information on ESO’s activities and how you can help, visit www.eso.org.om.