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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Australian Marine Debris Initiative

Tangaroa Blue Foundation (
Non-governmental organization (NGO)
)
#SDGAction42178
    Description
    Intro

    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) aims to connect all stakeholders in Australia on actions that remove and prevent marine debris. The AMDI network collects data on what is removed during clean-up activities, and it is submitted into the AMDI Database to help inform source reduction strategies that aim at stopping the flow of rubbish into our waterways and oceans at the source.

    Description
    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) is a network of volunteers, communities, organisations and agencies focused on the removal and prevention of marine debris. The network contributes data from rubbish collected during clean-up events to the AMDI Database. The data is used to identify marine debris items, their potential sources and relevant stakeholders needed to assist in the creation of source reduction plans that stop the flow of litter at the source. The AMDI helps communities look after their coastal environment by providing resources and support programs, and collaborates with industry and government to create change on a large scale.
    Expected Impact

    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) has 6 main objectives;
    - the removal of marine debris and litter from freshwater and saltwater environments - this is carried out by AMDI partners including local citizen scientists, community groups, industry groups and government agencies;
    - the collection of scientifically robust data on what is being removed and from where - this data is housed in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database;
    - the tracking to the source of where and why these items are being released into the environment;
    - the engagement of the relevant stakeholders to create practical solutions that stop that particular item from being released at the source (source reduction plans);
    - ongoing monitoring through clean-up activities to monitor the success of failure of source reduction plans;
    - education and awareness on the marine debris issue and its impacts.

    These objectives are carried out by AMDI partners and communicated through the AMDI platform.

    Implementation of the Project/Activity

    Tangaroa Blue Foundation works with key partners to engage a range of stakeholders in Australian Marine Debris Initiative actions including clean-ups, data collection, data analysis, monitoring, source reduction projects, reporting and awareness raising.

    Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer

    AMDI data collection and database training resources are provided to citizen scientists along with an online support database officer. In addition training workshop sessions are held for partner organisations assisting in capacity building and technology transfer.

    Capacity

    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) is a platform that encourages partners and volunteers to share their data, knowledge, experiences, successes and failures to help build capacity within stakeholders who are working in the marine debris space.

    Resources are available for download from the www.tangaroablue.org website to assist volunteers and partners in building their capacity, skill and knowledge to contribute to the AMDI platform.

    The AMDI Database can be utilised by AMDI partners for educational, research and source reduction plans, ensuring that the data collected on the ground is used in the widest context.

    Coordination mechanisms

    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative is coordinated by Tangaroa Blue Foundation and supported by a steering committee of key stakeholders.

    Governed

    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative is coordinated by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation - a registered Australian NGO. The network of partners voluntarily contributes to all stages of the AMDI (clean-ups, consistent data collection methodology, source reduction plans), where it is applicable providing a national platform to address the issue of marine debris.

    Evaluation

    The Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database has quality control procedures in place to ensure data accuracy.

    Partners
    Tangaroa Blue Foundation, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Keep Australian Beautiful WA, Department of Environment Regulation WA, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection QLD, Local Land Services Hunter Region, Southern Region Waste Group, Chemistry Australia, Douglas Shire Council, Cairns Regional Council, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, Eurobodalla Shire Council, Sustainability Victoria, Northern Territory Seafood Council, Mapoon Land & Sea Rangers, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, NPARC Apudthama Land & Sea Rangers, Lama Lama Land & Sea Rangers, Girringun Land & Sea Rangers, NQ Dry Tropics NRM.

    Goal 17

    Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

    Goal 17

    17.1

    Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection

    17.1.1
    Total government revenue as a proportion of GDP, by source
    17.1.2
    Proportion of domestic budget funded by domestic taxes

    17.2

    Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries

    17.2.1
    Net official development assistance, total and to least developed countries, as a proportion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee donors’ gross national income (GNI)

    17.3

    Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources

    17.3.1

    Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources 

    17.3.2
    Volume of remittances (in United States dollars) as a proportion of total GDP

    17.4

    Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress

    17.4.1
    Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services

    17.5

    Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries

    17.5.1

    Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries

    17.6

    Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism

    17.6.1

     Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

    17.7

    Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed

    17.7.1

    Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies

    17.8

    Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

    17.8.1
    Proportion of individuals using the Internet

    17.9

    Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

    17.9.1

    Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries

    17.10

    Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda

    17.10.1
    Worldwide weighted tariff-average

    17.11

    Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020

    17.11.1

    Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports

    17.12

    Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access

    17.12.1

    Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States

    17.13

    Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence

    17.13.1
    Macroeconomic Dashboard

    17.14

    Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development

    17.14.1
    Number of countries with mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development

    17.15

    Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development 

    17.15.1
    Extent of use of country-owned results frameworks and planning tools by providers of development cooperation

    17.16

    Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

    17.16.1

    Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

    17.17

    Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships 

    17.17.1

    Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure

    17.18

    By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts

    17.18.1

    Statistical capacity indicators

    17.18.2
    Number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
    17.18.3

    Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding

    17.19

    By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries

    17.19.1
    Dollar value of all resources made available to strengthen statistical capacity in developing countries
    17.19.2

    Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration

    Goal 14

    Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

    Goal 14

    14.1

    By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

    14.1.1

    (a) Index of coastal eutrophication; and (b) plastic debris density

    14.2

    By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans

    14.2.1

    Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas

    14.3

    Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels

    14.3.1
    Average marine acidity (pH) measured at agreed suite of representative sampling stations

    14.4

    By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics

    14.4.1
    Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels

    14.5

    By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information

    14.5.1
    Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas

    14.6

    By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation

    14.6.1

    Degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

    14.7

    By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism

    14.7.1

    Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries

    14.a

    Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries

    14.a.1
    Proportion of total research budget allocated to research in the field of marine technology

    14.b

    Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets

    14.b.1

    Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small‐scale fisheries

    14.c

    Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of "The future we want"

    14.c.1

    Number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources

    Name Description
    14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
    14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans

    Independent assessment of the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database conducted by the University of New South Wales.
    Continental patterns in marine debris revealed by a decade of citizen science (2021), J. Gacutan et al.

    In-kind contribution
    AMDI partners collecting and submitting data to the AMDI Database
    Staff / Technical expertise
    Dedicated AMDI Database manager
    Staff / Technical expertise
    Dedicated AMDI manager
    No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.
    True
    Tangaroa Blue Foundation staff and volunteers during a clean-up on the Great Barrier Reef.
    This initiative fulfils the SMART criteria.
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    Timeline
    01 January 2013 (start date)
    30 June 2030 (date of completion)
    Entity
    Tangaroa Blue Foundation
    SDGs
    Geographical coverage
    Australia-wide
    Ocean Basins
    Global
    Communities of Ocean Action
    Marine pollution
    Photos
    Tangaroa Blue Foundation staff and volunteers during a clean-up on the Great Barrier Reef.
    More information
    Countries
    Australia
    Australia
    Contact Information

    Heidi Tait, CEO