Global project launched to tackle plastic litter from ships and fisheries

A new global project to prevent and reduce marine plastic litter from shipping and fisheries has been launched by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Initial funding for the project is from the Government of Norway.

Plastic litter in the oceans is recognised as a major environmental problem. The GloLitter Partnerships Project aims to help shipping and fisheries move to a low-plastics future. GloLitter will assist developing countries identify opportunities to prevent and reduce marine litter, including plastic litter, from within the maritime transport and fisheries sectors, and to decrease the use of plastics in these industries, including identifying opportunities to re-use and recycle plastics.

The project will consider the availability and adequacy of port reception facilities; look at enhancing awareness of the marine plastics issue within the shipping and fisheries sectors, including seafarers and fishers; and encourage fishing gear to be marked so it can be traced back to its owner if discarded.

These and other actions to reduce plastic litter have already been identified in IMO’s Action Plan to address marine plastic litter from ships, adopted in 2018.

The GloLitter project will develop guidance documents, training material and toolkits to help enforce existing regulations, including IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex V. Since 1988, this has prohibited the discharge of plastics, including discarded fishing gear, into the sea from ships.

“Plastic litter in the oceans is harming fish, marine mammals and seabirds and threatening the entire marine ecosystem. IMO has been at the forefront of addressing this issue from the perspective of shipping and dumping at sea and this global project will further strengthen efforts within the fishing and maritime transport sectors to pilot, demonstrate and test best practices to deal with marine plastic litter. Our ambition is to move the maritime transport and fisheries sectors towards a future with no plastic waste entering the sea, and to share our successes with other sectors that could be encouraged to strengthen their efforts too,” said Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, IMO.

Ten countries, from five high priority regions (Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Latin America and Pacific) will be selected to spearhead the project. At the country level, GloLitter will expand government and port management capacities and instigate legal, policy and institutional reforms. Regional cooperation will also be enhanced.

The project is intended to be a multi-donor programme. The initial funding of NOK 40 million (approximately US$4.5 million) from the Government of Norway provides for a 3.5-year project, executed by IMO in partnership with FAO.

Original source: IMO
Published on 05 December 2019