Webinar seeks to discuss ways to reduce plastic waste, marine litter
Globally, up to 13 million tons of plastic wastes are dumped into the oceans annually, affecting over 800 species in marine and coastal environments. To address this, solutions are needed at the interface of the circular and green economy, waste management, health and water resources, sustainable consumption, biodiversity and climate protection. Factors contributing to the increase in plastic wastes include population growth, urbanization, as well as changing consumption and production patterns (i.e., packaging and single-use items). If not properly disposed, collected, managed, and processed, plastic wastes will end up in the waterways and oceans, resulting to marine litter posing a growing global threat to marine ecosystems and fisheries.
On November 16, 2021 at 3:00-5:00 PM (GMT+8), an Online Dialogue on Circular Economy Solutions to Reduce Plastic Waste and Marine Litter will be jointly organized by the EU/GIZ Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter Project and the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to provide a platform for the sharing of strategies, tools, and lessons learned on circular economy for plastics to prevent and reduce marine litter. The dialogue will bring together experiences and perspectives from Europe, East and Southeast Asia in terms of strategies, tools, mechanisms, and success stories in sustainable plastic production and consumption, and circular economy.
Expected outcomes from the online dialogue include: (1) various initiatives, experiences and best practices on plastic waste and marine litter reduction, prevention and management within and outside the region are shared and documented; (2) opportunities for replication/scaling up of experiences and best practices, including potential collaborations on plastic wastes and marine litter reduction, prevention and management are identified; and (3) approaches and enabling mechanisms for mainstreaming marine litter prevention and circular economy into national and local development plans are identified.
The half-day event will feature an open forum and presentations, with a panel discussion on “Challenges and Policy Measures for Circular Economy in the context of Marine Litter.” Additionally, breakout groups will be organized to discuss topics on “Sustainable Consumption and Production of Plastics” and “Improvement and New Approaches for Plastic Waste Management.
The event is open to the public and interested participants may register at: https://bit.ly/reducemarinelitter. Audiences expected to benefit from the dialogue include public representatives (national government agencies and local government units); business representatives (industry associations and the private sector); and representatives from the civil society and the academe.
The Rethinking Plastics-Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter Project is based on cooperation between the European Union and seven countries in East and Southeast Asia. It helps countries in the region reduce plastic waste and improve its collection and recycling, thereby promoting a circular economy for plastics in order to reduce plastic waste leakage into the sea. The objective of the circular economy is to use resources more efficiently and sustainably according to the principle of reduce, reuse and recycle. The project implements advisory services and pilot projects in close cooperation with regional, national and local partners and is funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Expertise France.
This event is part of a series of collaborations set to culminate in the 2021 East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress from December 1-2. For more information on the 2021 EAS Congress, visit https://eascongress2021.pemsea.org/.
MEDIA CONTACT:
(Ms) Reggie U. Olalia
PEMSEA Communications Specialist
Email: rolalia@pemsea.org
(+63) 917-9028121
