HCL Foundation’s Dive to Retrieve campaign launched

HCL Foundation (HCLF), HCL Technologies’ CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm, announced the commencement of the ‘Dive to Retrieve’ – Harit Ghostnet Campaign on Earth Day, as part of its flagship programme for environmental action, HCL Harit. HCL Foundation (HCLF), HCL Technologies’ CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm, announced the commencement of the ‘Dive to Retrieve campaign’ – Harit Ghostnet Campaign on Earth Day, as part of its flagship programme for environmental action, HCL Harit. 
 
The HCL Foundation, in collaboration with Temple Adventures, led a team of licenced divers to rescue ‘ghost nets,’ which are abandoned, discarded, or otherwise lost fishing gear that pose a hazard to coastal and marine ecosystems, from ecologically significant places off the coast of Chennai. The HCL Foundation is the first CSR organisation in India to attempt a diving effort to recover ghostnets in order to protect oceans and their inhabitants.

At the flag-off celebration on the Neelankarai shore near Chennai, Mr. Vijayanand A K, Global Operations Director, Merck AMS Delivery, was present. 
 
Diver teams rescued abandoned fishing gear from underwater places during a three-day campaign organised by HCL Harit, the HCL Foundation‘s environment action programme, from April 22 to 24, 2022. Each day, fifteen certified volunteer divers from Chennai, Madurai, and Mumbai came together to retrieve ghost nets. Each day, the squad did two dives, each lasting around 45 minutes. The team collected and retrieved around 300 kg of ghost nets over the course of three days. For the most part, these divers are diving for the first time for an environmental cause.

Dive to Retrieve campaign

In the future, the HCLF plans to run further campaigns along the coast of Tamil Nadu, progressively stretching throughout the east coast.

To create a circular economy around ghost nets, the HCLF wants to collaborate with fishing communities and local stakeholders to develop solutions for upcycling abandoned nets and other marine debris, as well as incentivizing their collection. 
 
Furthermore, the HCL Foundation, in collaboration with its NGO partners, has been working on an incentive-based strategy for ghostnet retrieval for more than a year. This strategy directly involves fisherman communities along the coast of Chennai and Chengalpattu districts in retrieving 57,000 kg of ghostnets and marine debris.

HCL Harit initiative

“HCL Foundation, through its HCL Harit initiative, has been addressing the concerns of climate change in a sustainable manner through community engagement,” said Ms. Nidhi Pundhir, Director, HCL Foundation. Through projects like ‘HCL Harit – Dive to Retrieve,’ the HCLF is happy to assist marine ecosystems. We plan to enlist certified community members to assist in the removal of marine trash along India’s east coast.” 
 
“Ghost nets are a less-spoken manmade cause of environmental difficulties and have been a continual source of wounded or dead sea species,” said Mr. Vijayanand A K, Global Operations Director, Merck AMS Delivery. The HCL Foundation has shown great foresight in addressing this critical environmental issue. With this initiative, we will aim to not only recover the nets, but also to raise public awareness about the issue.” 

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