Combating marine litter in the Mediterranean through an integrated and strategic management approach : launch of the Plastic Busters CAP project
27 January 2022. Marine litter, the vast majority of which is made of plastics, is globally acknowledged as a major environmental and societal challenge of our time. The Mediterranean is one of the most affected seas by marine litter with more than 130 marine species are affected by debris originating primarily from shoreline activities.
The new project “Plastic Busters CAP:Fostering knowledge transfer to tackle marine litter in the Mediterranean” kicked off today under the umbrella of the UfM initiative “Plastic Busters”, to become an instrument to improve Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), resulting in better local development planning.
The main expected results of the project are the development of hands-on training activities on marine litter monitoring and assessment and mitigation measures, organisation of e-course on marine litter monitoring, marine litter monitoring and assessment in 4 pilot campaigns and the creation of a coastal cities network for a litter-free Mediterranean.
The project will be implemented in Greece, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Spain, and Tunisia over the next 2 years with a budget of over €1 Million. It is co-funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Med programme, with the support of SDSN MED (Sustainable Development Solutions Network Mediterranean) and is led by the University of Siena (Italy).
