Panama National Action Plan on Marine Litter and Stakeholder Round Table on Marine Debris

Litter is found in all the world's oceans and seas, even in remote areas far from human contact and direct sources of the problem. The continuous growth in the amount of solid waste thrown away and the very slow rate of degradation of most items, especially plastic, are together leading to a gradual increase in marine litter found in the open ocean, on the seafloor and coastal ecosystems. It is an economic, environmental, human health and aesthetic problem posing a complex and multi-dimensional challenge. There is worry that rivers, streams, and seas where fishing is traditionally practiced, could become so contaminated that it will become dangerous to consume any fish or creature from these waters (Sheavly & Register 2007).

Panama, a host of two oceans, has an economy dependent on tourism and logistics (via the Canal), with these two sectors being the second and third most important income sources for the country. Likewise, their closeness to the ocean makes marine creatures an important source of food for the Panamanians. However, it is easy to find rivers covered in trash in the dry season, and when the rainy season starts, currents of trash, mainly plastics floating, flow towards the ocean. Likewise, Panam has suffered several floods caused by drainages being clogged by litter that eventually ends up in the ocean. The government and the civil society have organized Beach and coastal clean-ups which serve to raise awareness and also to clean making beaches again appealing to tourists, but this is still not enough. Litter is not being disposed of properly and this is having an impact in the Panamanian coasts and seas and also, through ocean currents, in the world's oceans.

In efforts to address the problem of marine pollution, the Ministry of Environment of Panama has teamed with United Nations Environment to finance and produce a National Action Plan on marine litter. This Plan looks forth to give Panama as a country a north to point at when it comes to handling the problematic of marine litter throughout different sectors nationwide, finally seeking to standardize how this problem is handled inter-sectorally in order to decrease the amount of solid waste that reaches the oceans. Additionally, MiAmbiente and UN Environment of Panama with support for the US EPA, are undergoing the organization of a workshop to identify stakeholders on waste management at a national level to hold roundtables for the exchange of information, experiences, and to design pilot initiatives to be implemented locally and to address local sources of marine litter.