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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:14 pm
Time: 8:14 pm
Results for marine litter
2 results foundAuthor: Hammerle, Mara Title: Stopping the Spread: The Issue of Death by Plastic in Commonwealth Marine Areas and the Great Barrier Reef Summary: Plastic pollution, both land-based and in our oceans, is one of the most significant environmental challenges the world faces. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has even called it a critical problem, comparable to climate change. While plastic pollution is not the only type of marine litter, it is the most abundant form and poses a worldwide threat to marine environments. Mass production of plastic materials, coupled with inefficient disposal systems and widespread limited environmental awareness, exacerbate the issue. Marine litter is "any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in, the marine and coastal environment". It is found across the planet, including in remote regions far from civilisation - such as Antarctica, remote mountain-tops and the deep-sea ocean floor. In marine environments, the litter accumulates in high densities posing detrimental consequences for marine life. Many species either accidentally swallow or become entangled in the litter, resulting in injury and sometimes death. It also has economic consequences, for example by limiting fishery productivity. There is an urgent need to address marine litter both through the strengthening of existing strategies and through new innovations and technology. As marine litter is rooted in production and consumption patterns and the disposal and management of waste, it is these areas where interventions are necessary. The aim of the report is to look at what could be done at the federal level to reduce marine litter in our oceans by examining lessons from international case studies. The strategies are categorised in five themes: prevention (preventing the production of plastic and other litter in the first place), mitigation (minimising the amount of litter entering water sources), removal (removing litter from marine environments), education (educating the public and other key stakeholders) and research (understanding the extent and impact of marine litter). It is however important that the potential negative impacts of any policy recommendations are assessed before adoption. However, the Constitution prescribes no specific environmental regulatory powers to the Federal Government and those powers that the Federal Government does have through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are limited and weak. As stressed by numerous environmental organisations, including the Boomerang Alliance, Places You Love and Environmental Defenders Offices, there is an urgent need for national leadership both on marine litter and on environmental matters more generally. Details: Queensland, Australia: McKell Institute, 2018. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: https://mckellinstitute.org.au/app/uploads/Stopping-the-Spread-1.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://apo.org.au/node/204446 Shelf Number: 155492 Keywords: Australia Environmental Crime Green CriminologyHazardous Waste Marine LitterMarine Pollution Offences Against the Environment Plastic PollutionPolluted Oceans |
Author: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies Title: Collective Response to the Challenge of Marine Plastic Pollution Summary: Reducing plastic pollution in the oceans will be on the agenda of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on 28 and 29 June. Attention to the challenge from the leaders of the world's major economies is timely and imperative because non-traditional security threats induced by plastic pollution like degradation of the marine ecosystem and contamination of the food chain are increasingly imminent. A crisis of plastic waste is unfolding in many parts of the world now. The Philippines recently shipped scores of containers of waste back to Canada. Malaysia is to send back thousands of tons of waste from around the world like Australia. Against this background, the Basel Convention was amended in May 2019, which requires more transparency and regulation in the global trade in plastic waste. Several East/Southeast Asian countries, like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Japan, are important stakeholders for dealing with this challenge, as they are both major contributors to and victims of marine plastic pollution. They have strengthened efforts at the national level, like developing national action plans, specifying targets for reduction, and implementing new policies and regulations. Japan, for instance, adopted a new policy in May 2019 that aims to cut its flow of plastic waste into the ocean and to contribute to the global efforts as well. The aforementioned waste disputes have highlighted the loopholes in the existing cycle of reuse, reduce and recycle in many countries and the importance of a collaborative approach. Given that marine environmental pollution is borderless and developing countries in particular face mounting pressure for coping with plastic waste from domestic as well as foreign sources, international cooperation is crucial for an effective global solution to the problem. Japan's new policy package includes provision of technical and financial assistance for developing countries to tackle the challenge. This may indicate further support for Japan's existing cooperation with developing countries, like funding the proposed Knowledge Centre on ASEAN Marine Debris in Indonesia. The Asian Development Bank signed an agreement with Indonesia on collaboration in reducing marine plastic debris in early May, which includes technical assistance and knowledge sharing. International cooperation as such can enable better management of plastic waste in developing countries through supporting policy formulation and implementation, encouraging engagement of private sector and other social actors, and bridging partnerships between stakeholders. Given that marine plastic pollution will be discussed at the forthcoming G20 Summit, it is important that the needs and challenges of developing countries are given sufficient consideration in the discussion. Since Japan is the host and Indonesia, Singapore and China will attend the summit, East/Southeast Asian countries may take the opportunity to feature their perspectives in the global debate. Collaboration in financing and technological innovations should be emphasised as these two aspects are essential for better waste management and reduction in pollution in developing countries. Details: Singapore: S. Rajartnam School of International Studies, NTS (National Non-Traditional Security Studies) Bulletin, 2019. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 27, 2019 at: https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NTS-Bulletin-June-2019.pdf Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/nts/nts-bullettin-june-2019/#.XRUJW-tKjcs Shelf Number: 156580 Keywords: Environmental CrimeMarine LitterOffenses Against the EnvironmentPlastic Pollution |