Afroz Shah is an Indian lawyer and environmental activist from Mumbai. He is best known for organizing the world’s largest beach clean-up project, which has grown into a movement that has inspired people around the world to clean up their surrounding environment.

Shah was named by the United Nations as a Champion of the Earth for leading the clean-up of Mumbai’s Versova Beach. After clearing 20 million kilograms of garbage in three years.

Shah does his work without any external grants or organizational support; the money comes mostly from his earnings as a successful lawyer. His is an entirely volunteer-run effort. “Each one does his or her bit and goes home”.
Every weekend, he cooks and carries with him food for 50-100 people. He uses community meals as a platform to educate the millions who live along the river, explaining ideas such as recycling and sustainability.

Shah prefers to use the word “nature” rather than the environment. Observing how fish ingest hazardous microplastics has put him off seafood completely, but his love for nature was inculcated early in life when the five-year-old tagged along with his father, a businessman, on fishing trips to Powai Lake, waiting hours to hook rohu or black pomfret.

“Environmental protection suffers all over the globe because of jingoism. You have to make it monotonous. Loving nature must be an everyday affair.”