Identifying and quantifying plastic contaminant sources and leakages into the aquatic environment
EC/UNEP project, part of UNEP Plastics Initiative
Objective
This project will establish a practical methodology to identify and quantify sources of plastic pollution in the aquatic environment.
Context
There are several physical models and methodologies to address land-based sources of marine pollution, but there is no standardised tool to develop an appropriate inventory of sources of plastics entering the aquatic environments.
To address this, this project will develop a practical and useful toolkit to identify and quantify the sources of plastic pollutants entering the aquatic environment. The application of the toolkit will allow the development of source-inventories and list of hotspots, so that control bodies can better understand current scenarios and develop strategies to address water plastic pollution, with focus on priority action.
The project is executed by UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP-IETC) in cooperation with the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment (DG ENV), and is majorly funded by the European Commission.
Activities and expected results
Expected Result (Outcome)
Information on sources/leakages of plastics entering aquatic environment is available and used to establish baselines/targets/objectives within aquatic plastic pollution management programmes.
Outputs and activities
Output 1. A toolkit to identify and quantify sources/leakages of plastic waste entering aquatic environment.
- Activity 1.1 Organisation of working group meetings
- Activity 1.2 Compilation of existing methodologies and models
- Activity 1.3 Development and finalisation of a target toolkit
Output 2. Source/leakage inventory of plastics entering the aquatic environment in Kenya applying the toolkit.
- Activity 2.1 Identification of a pilot country
- Activity 2.2 Participatory data collection
- Activity 2.3 Application of the toolkit
Output 3. Communication and visibility of the project results through the existing water agreements and a future legally binding agreement on plastic pollution.
- Activity 3.1 Development of information materials
- Activity 3.2 Organisation of events on key occasions
- Activity 3.3 Dissemination of outreach/advocacy materials
Workplan and timeline
Project management and governance
Materials
EC-UNEP project’s general presentation
News
Call is open for experts to be part of the Working Group to support the toolkit development and application
(Insert a link to the ToR)
Contact
Project manager: Felipe Dall felipe.dallorsoletta@un.org
Overall supervisor: Takehiro Nakamura takehiro.nakamura@un.org
UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP-IETC)
unep-ietc@un.org | unep.org/ietc/ | twitter.com/unep_ietc | linkedin.com/company/unep-international-environment-technology-centre/
