Busan, June 2018 – Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Bangladesh, Japan, Republic of Korea and Viet Nam meeting at the NOWPAP Asia Pacific Civil Forum on Marine Litter (APML) here on 6 June, shared experiences in mobilizing public support against marine litter and highlighted the increasing threat of sea pollution from aquaculture.
The NOWPAP-APML Joint NGO Forum on Marine Litter, attended by 10 NGO representatives was held at the Homers Hotel after the 5-6 June First Meeting of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan for Marine Litter (RAP MALI) Focal Points at the same venue. Representatives of NOWPAP and an observer from the Russian Federation also took part in the half-day forum.
Participants discussed challenges to marine litter prevention in the Asian region and identified resources and opportunities for collaboration between civil society and the international community to address the growing problem of marine pollution from human activities.
The opening session on ‘Marine Litter and Citizen Science’ included presentations on people’s initiatives against marine litter in Asia, by Ms Nguyen Thu Trang of GreenHub Viet Nam, Mr. S.M. Muntasir Mamun of Bangladeshi NGO Kewkradong, Dr. Jongmyoung Lee of OSEAN, Republic of Korea and Ms. Chieko Azuma of JEAN, Japan.
Ms Nguyen highlighted the problem of sea pollution from Styrofoam fragments originating in oyster aquaculture farms in Viet Nam where the Ha long Bay Peoples’ Committee has banned the use of polystyrene and called for adoption of environment-friendly alternatives. In Bangladesh, Mr. Mamun’s NGO has developed a smartphone application to engage citizens in reporting street garbage while in the Republic of Korea, the government is supporting an OSEAN project to monitor beach debris using a smartphone application. In Japan, JEAN is working with several NGOs to organize a series of activities to address marine litter and microplastics pollution.
The NGOs emphasized the need to collect data on aquaculture as a growing sources of derelict fishing gear and the lack of attention to the role of natural disasters in spreading marine litter. Styrofoam buoys from oyster-aquaculture in the Northwest Pacific and Southeast Asia have caused serious marine litter problems.
They also identified opportunities for collaboration between civil society, UN Environment, governments and private sector to prevent and reduce marine litter, including building capacities at grassroots level.
