Progress report for
Developing and sharing solutions to Marine Plastic Litter
Achievement at a glance
Marine litter is a hot topic, receiving interest from all sectors of society. The Centre for Sea and Society at the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish Agency for the Marine Environment are continuously collaborating with partners to develop and disseminate solutions to reduce marine plastic litter in the ocean and coastal areas. A major contributor to the below described work have also been the Centre for Collective Action at the University of Gothenburg, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and Vastkuststiftelsen. Since the commitment in 2017 the work has been concentrated but not exclusively directed towards three focus areas:Knowledge Transfer
Done mainly by organizing, participated, and supporting different initiatives to produce and share knowledge and experiences regarding solutions to marine plastic litter. This has been done by using approaches grounded in research, outreach, and policy and by facilitating discussions and alliances among stakeholders.
Transdisciplinary Research Projects
Several new projects both with a national and international focus have started and are ongoing with a strong focus on solutions and problem management of marine plastic litter
Transdisciplinary Education. By incorporating the global issue of marine plastic litter in existing and newly developed courses at the University of Gothenburg as well as in national open digital learning platforms and outreach projects directed towards schools.
Challenges faced in implementation
We were fortunate to have mediators and organizations accustomed to working with many different actors and disciplines and that are skilled at communicating and hosting transdisciplinary cooperation.Beneficiaries
Participants from academic, governments, business and civil society in various developing countries with specific focus in African countries.
The executive summary report Marine plastic litter on Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Impacts and measures and the participation in high-level international dialogues, have enabled influence of the future direction of UNEA's efforts to combat marine plastic debris. To some extent, it also helped to bridge the gap between science and political decision-makers and communicate research and environmental problems with the public.
International marine waste management teams: Ospar ICGML (Intersessional Correspondence Group on Marine Litter), Helcom ENML (Expert Network on Marine Litter), and EU TSGML (Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter)
International and National Students studying at The University of Gothenburg
Affiliated researchers from the Centre for Sea and Society at the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish Agency for the Marine Environment
Actions
Knowledge Transfer-Producing the report Marine plastic litter on Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Impacts and measures presented at the UN Ocean Conference in New York 2017 and the UN Environment Assembly meeting in Nairobi, Kenya 2017.
-Planning and providing experts for the UN Ocean Conference in New York 2017.
-Panel discussion at the Blue ocean conference, Liberia, Monrovia 2019 that brought together individuals from governments, business and civil society from various African countries.
-Expert support within international marine waste management teams: Ospar ICGML (Intersessional Correspondence Group on Marine Litter), Helcom ENML (Expert Network on Marine Litter), and EU TSGML (Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter).
-Working within GESAMP with two marine plastic projects with representatives from Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australasia involved in academia, industry, NGOs, and governmental organisations.
Transdisciplinary Research Projects (examples)
- iMPACT: Microplastic pollution and chemical toxicity
- A sea of plastics - are microplastics toxic to fish?
- Microplastics in marine waters: Sources, pathways, fate and indicator species
- Clean Coastline
- Limnoplast (Marie Curie-ITN)
Transdisciplinary Education
- An International master programme in Sea and Society with students from all over the world was launched 2019 at the University of Gothenburg several courses addressing marine plastic litter issues.
- Sustainability Day Challenges, School of Business, Economics and Law at The University of Gothenburg. Yearly seminars for about 650 first semester students.