As part of the implementation of the Regional Programme on Marine Litter in the Southeast Pacific, participative municipal action plans on marine litter were elaborated in five coastal communities of Southeast Pacific countries (Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru) during 2014 under the coordination of the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific and the support of GPA.
Action Plans were elaborated with inputs obtained in a planning workshops attended by local stakeholders and authorities. The five municipal Action Plans were adopted through letters of endorsement or municipal resolutions. In addition, some activities were carried out in implementing the Action Plans such as assessment of the source of marine litter, installation of reception facilities for litter generated by fishermen, design and distribution of eco-friendly shopping bags, training and coordination workshops to institutionalize following up mechanisms.
This project is complementary to the 12 workshops on marine litter targeting fishing communities that were conducted in the Southeast in 2013 focusing on three key local actors: school teachers, artisanal fishermen and tour operators.
A training course to assess the prevalence of microplastics on fishing resources in Southeast Pacific countries (Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru) was held 1-5 August 2016 in Coquimbo, Chile with the support of UN Environment through the Global Partnership on Marine Litter and coordinated by the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific Participants were trained on protocols to assess microplastics in water, sand and marine fish from the different countries.
In total over 700 people have participated in the activities implemented in the framework of this project.
