Representatives from eight Pacific Island countries have gathered in Auckland, New Zealand for the Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme Workshop, an initiative under the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP), funded by the Australian Government and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The Coastal Monitoring Programme aims to measure and monitor mismanaged plastic waste across islands in the Pacific. Working with government and communities, teams will collect on ground data to identify sources, distribution and hotspots of marine litter.
This will help quantify the extent and locations of plastic pollution, and will identify key littered items to target for interventions.
“The key to tackling plastic pollution is understanding where it comes from and how it moves through different ecosystems,” said Mr. Anthony Talouli, the Director of Waste Management and Pollution Control Programme at SPREP.
“This programme will build on past interventions and help us build a clearer picture of the pollution pathways and inform targeted interventions to protect our marine environments.”
The workshop organised by SPREP is facilitated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) who have been contracted to provide technical support to the initiative.
“We’re very excited to be working with these Pacific Island countries. By collecting data in a similar way to other countries in the region, we can make comparisons among the countries, within the region, and beyond,” noted Dr. Denise Hardesty, Senior Scientist and project lead from CSIRO.
The findings from the programme will contribute to regional efforts to combat plastic pollution and support policy development for a Cleaner Pacific. It will provide critical information needed by Pacific Island countries to help inform the global plastics treaty discussions.
“The long-term goal of the POLP project is to contribute to cleaner coastal environments in Pacific Island countries,” said Ms Melissa Masters of the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
“This workshop lays the foundation for effective monitoring and data collection, ensuring that we have scientific evidence to track progress in reducing single-use plastics in the region,” she added.
Thirty-four representatives from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu, along with development partners, are participating in the workshop.
“Plastic pollution is a growing crisis for our coastal communities. Every day, we witness plastic debris washing up on our shores, impacting marine life, fisheries, human health and tourism. Having a standardized monitoring approach will allow us to assess the true scale of the problem and make informed decisions to reduce plastic waste,” said Ms Kritika Raj, the Principal Environment Officer at Fiji’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
“As a small island nation, we see firsthand how plastic accumulates on our shores, often carried by ocean currents from distant places. The data we collect through this project will not only help us address our own waste management challenges but also contribute to global understanding of plastic pollution. It’s critical that we take action now to protect our ocean, our livelihoods, and our future generations,” said Michael Suinao, the Senior Environment Officer at Solomon Island’s Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology.
The workshop will provide an opportunity for SPREP and CSIRO to work bilaterally with the participating countries to develop country-specific work plans for implementation while also incorporating gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) considerations and a robust monitoring, evaluation, reporting, learning (MERL) framework.
About POLP
To combat the problem of plastic litter in the ocean, Australia is partnering with SPREP and Pacific Island countries to implement a seven-year (2019-2027) $16 million, Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP). POLP will support the phase-out of specific types of single-use plastics from land-based sources, including household litter and tourism waste. It will also support behaviour change in the users, consumers and producers of plastics and the introduction of alternative products.
For more information on POLP, visit: www.sprep.org/polp