“Our world is swamped by harmful plastic waste. Microplastics in the seas now outnumber stars in our galaxy. From remote islands to the Artic, nowhere is untouched. If present trends continue, by 2050, our oceans will have more plastic than fish. The message is simple: reject single use plastic. Refuse what you can't reuse. Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world.”
- António Guterres
United Nations Secretary General
(World Environment Day 2018))
Seventy to eighty-five percent of marine litter in the Caribbean Sea is from land-based sources. Marine litter is one of three priority pollutants (the others being agrochemical run-off and domestic wastewater) that are being targeted for improved management.
Right now, governments throughout the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR) have banned, or are considering bans on single-use plastics, including plastic bags and/or Styrofoam.
Antigua and Barbuda led the charge with a five-phased approach to getting rid of plastics, beginning on 1 January 2016. This included extensive consultation with stakeholders, incorporation of the ban into existing legislation rather than creating new laws, and an awareness raising campaign launched on World Environment Day 2016 with the tagline “Make a difference one bag at a time”. The result was that the composition of plastic at landfills declined from 19.5% in 2006 to 4.4% in 2017.
The momentum continues. More than 18 territories have already definitively banned single-use plastic and/or Styrofoam products. In addition, three countries have introduced bans at local levels; two have announced bans to begin in 2020 and 2021; 14 are discussing it at government level, and four have begun public consultations.
The environmental, social and economic impacts of plastics in the environment are well known. They include choking of waterways and exacerbation of flooding; contamination of soil and water; plastic in the food chain because of ingestion by fish; blocking of sewage systems resulting in increased breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The latter causes an increased risk of transmission of waterborne diseases like dengue. Plastic in the environment also causes visual pollution that can have impacts on tourism and recreational activities.
Awareness of the hazards of single-use plastics in particular is growing because of several ongoing initiatives.
In February 2017, UN Environment launched the #CleanSeas Campaign to engage governments, the public, civil society, and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic litter. It aimed to address the root-cause of marine litter by targeting the production and consumption of non-recoverable and single-use plastic.
By April 2019, sixty governments (including nine in the Caribbean) accounting for more than 60% of the world’s coastline, had signed up to the #CleanSeas Campaign. Many have begun making specific commitments to protecting oceans, encouraging recycling and cutting back on single-use plastics. Some have created marine reserves and adopted national plans on recycling and waste management.
The only legally binding environmental agreement in the Region, is the UN Environment – Caribbean Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP). UNEP-CEP ensures synergies with the obligations of the Contracting Parties, and supports implementation of the Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution (LBS) Protocol and the Caribbean Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter (RAPMaLI).
In 2018, UNEP-CEP prepareda technical research brief on the implementation of Styrofoam and Single-Use Plastic Bag bans in the Caribbean. It also introduced an interactive map to help in the tracking of progress.
Following the formation of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), a multi-stakeholder partnership launched at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 in June 2012, the GPML Caribbean Node (GPML-Caribe) was formed in 2016. It is co-hosted by the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) and the Secretariat for the Cartagena Convention, and has been working to reduce the quantity and impact of marine litter in coastal zones of the WCR.
In March 2019, marine litter experts from the WCR gathered to develop a strategic outline for marine litter management to support the further implementation of the RAPMaLI. They endorsed the need for research and monitoring, improved institutional policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks and enforcement, increased education, awareness and advocacy; and capacity building.
Christopher Corbin, Programme Officer responsible for the pollution programme at the Secretariat, stresses that marine litter is a problem that we can solve with commitment and joint action. According to him:
“Results from Global and Regional Research on marine litter and plastics is clear. Action is now needed at all levels – by governments, by private industry and most of all by local communities and individuals”.
In support of the Clean Seas campaign, on 31stJuly 2019, a short video, titled“Caribbean Breaking Up with Plastics” was launchedby the Global Environment Facility-funded Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (GEF IWEco) Project, which is co-implemented by UNEP-CEP.
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)