1st Workshop on Development of IORA Declaration on Combatting Marine Debris and a Strategic Framework of Action on Marine Debris in the Indian Ocean

Marine pollution has a negative impact on wildlife, human health, coastal infrastructures, as well as the fisheries and tourism industries, among others. plastics (including microplastics) and marine debris items are some of the prominent marine pollutants that injure and kill marine life, interfere with navigation safety, and pose a threat to human safety and health, and most importantly affecting countries’ economy. No country is immune to this global problem and there are already a number of initiatives, both regionally and internationally, to improve litter prevention, recycling, and other waste management infrastructure, with the support of scientists, policy-makers, along with strong regional and international partnerships.

Although marine pollution is an overgrowing concern for the IORA Member States, only some have already started addressing the issue and there is no dedicated regional guidelines have been established so far for IORA. Therefore, it is pertinent for IORA to develop a specific framework that will serve as guidelines and recommendations for IORA member states in combatting marine debris in the Indian Ocean region.

In this regard Indonesia in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) will organize a series of workshops for IORA Member States with the aim to generate concerted and tangible efforts in combatting marine debris in the Indian Ocean.

1. OBJECTIVES

The overarching objective of the proposal is to minimize the waste generation on land, thereby reducing the amount of plastic waste that enters the rivers and oceans. For this purpose, the specific objectives of the proposal are to:

• Support projects on policy advice, capacity building, technological cooperation and investments;
• Develop and implement strategies to reduce the amount of waste and thus plastic waste;
• Develop marine debris strategy framework directive that ranges from land based via waterway-based (rivers) to sea-based (fishing activities/ghost net) pollution sources.
• Promote the international exchange of knowledge and experiences in waste management, circular economy and marine litter;
• Initiate the implementation of pilot projects to develop the capacities of Member States;
• Enhance collaboration with the Dialogue Partners in combatting marine pollution;
• Explore the possibility of implementing an IORA Initiative to combat the marine plastic contamination in the region; and
• Develop an IORA Framework on Combatting Marine Debris, supported by a list of projects recommended by Member States.
• Exchange information and share knowledge to design and develop a tool for the monitoring of marine debris and its impact to the ocean.
• Strengthen the cooperation and community development in a reuse-reduce-recycle initiative

Time: 02.00pm – 4.30pm Indonesia Western Time (08.00am-10.30am CET/ 07.00-09.30 GMT/ 03.00pm – 5.30pm BST/ 09.00 – 11.30 SAST).

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