Ocean experts call for fight against marine waste
Leading scientists and policymakers meeting in Athens acknowledged that marine litter remained a "tremendous challenge" in almost all regions of the world, with significant socio-economic consequences and clear impacts on marine ecosystems. The three-day 16th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans was held amid growing concern worldwide about the threat that widespread plastic waste poses to marine life, with conservative estimates of overall financial damage of plastic to marine ecosystems standing at US$13 billion each year. Participating experts recommended a three-tier approach to marine litter, saying that the problem needed to be tackled - not just at the regional and national levels - but at the municipal level, because in most cases it is municipalities that have responsibility for solid-waste management. "If we are serious about reducing the amount of solid waste being dumped in oceans, or flowing through waterways into oceans and marine ecosystems, then we need to work at all levels, including with municipalities which deal with solid waste management at grassroots level," said Julian Reyna, Secretary-General of the Permanent Commission on the South Pacific, Ecuador. On the issue of microplastics - tiny pieces of plastic less than one millimetre in size that pollute ...
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