Hervé Corvellec
Professor
Marine plastic litter on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) : Impacts and measures
Author
Summary, in English
Plastic waste that ends up in the oceans as marine litter is a tangible and urgent environmental pressure reaching even the most remote parts of the global oceans. It impacts marine life from plankton to whales and turtles to albatrosses. Public awareness on how the modern lifestyle and the use of plastics in all sectors of society has influenced the marine ecosystems in the last
decades is growing, and an emerging discourse about countermeasures of all types can be seen in policies enacted by authorities in national, regional, and international policy arenas. Different coastal areas have launched Regional Action Plans (RAP) on marine litter that provide structured measures that need to be taken and general advice adapted to the respective region.
However, the scale of the problem is not only global in dimension, it also cuts across all sectors in society, and until the use of materials in society becomes sustainable, plastic waste will continues to flow into the seas. This report focuses on how marine plastic litter affects Small Island Developing States (SIDS) because these are considered to be more directly vulnerable to environmental changes, including marine litter, than other countries.
decades is growing, and an emerging discourse about countermeasures of all types can be seen in policies enacted by authorities in national, regional, and international policy arenas. Different coastal areas have launched Regional Action Plans (RAP) on marine litter that provide structured measures that need to be taken and general advice adapted to the respective region.
However, the scale of the problem is not only global in dimension, it also cuts across all sectors in society, and until the use of materials in society becomes sustainable, plastic waste will continues to flow into the seas. This report focuses on how marine plastic litter affects Small Island Developing States (SIDS) because these are considered to be more directly vulnerable to environmental changes, including marine litter, than other countries.
Department/s
- Department of Service Studies
Publishing year
2017-05-15
Language
English
Full text
Document type
Report
Publisher
Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment, University of Gothenburg
Topic
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
- Environmental Sciences
Keywords
- Marine litter
- SIDS
- Plastic waste
Status
Published
Report number
Report No. 2017:4