RP.0091

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RegionalActionPlanfortheSustainableManagementofMarineLitterintheRed

SeaandGulfofAden

September2018

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Table of Content TableofContent.....................................................................................................................................2ListofAcronyms.....................................................................................................................................4ExecutiveSummary..............................................................................................................................5Introduction..............................................................................................................................................7OutlineofthisRAP................................................................................................................................7MarineLitterinthePERSGARegion.............................................................................................8Environmental,HealthandEconomicImpactsofMarineLitter.....................................9TheRoleofPERSGAinManagingMarineLitter...................................................................11BackgroundtothisRAP....................................................................................................................12FrameworkforAction.......................................................................................................................13TheActions.............................................................................................................................................15

Component1:IntegratedManagementFramework.....................................................16Component2:AwarenessandEducation...........................................................................20Component3:LegalandInstitutionalFramework........................................................24Component4:EncouragingPublic-Private-Partnerships...........................................28Component5:RemovingMarineLitter................................................................................31Component6:ResearchandMonitoring.............................................................................34Component7:CapacityBuildingandTraining.................................................................39

Reference.................................................................................................................................................41Appendices..............................................................................................................................................44

Appendix1:Questionnairetemplate.....................................................................................45Appendix2:Beachlitterawarenessandeducationalresources.............................47Appendix3:TacklingmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion..........................................48

Figure1:Frameworktoaddresstheissueofmarinelitter.............................................13Figure2:Underwaterclean-upevent,Jeddah,SaudiArabia..........................................21Figure3:Beachclean-upandmonitoringactivity,Sudan................................................35Table1:CommontypesofmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.....................................8Table2:Decompositionratesforcommonlitter.................................................................10Table3:IntegratedManagementFrameworkActions......................................................18Table4:RaisingAwarenessandEducationActions...........................................................22Table5:LegalandInstitutionalFrameworkActions.........................................................26Table6:EncouragingPublic-PrivatePartnershipActions..............................................29Table7:RemovingLitterActions.................................................................................................32Table8:ResearchandMonitoringActions..............................................................................36Table9:CapacityBuildingandTrainingActions.................................................................40

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ThisdocumentwaspreparedundertheauspicesoftheRegionalOrganizationfortheConservationoftheEnvironmentoftheRedSeaandGulfofAden(PERSGA),by Anthony (Tony) Rouphael. Zaher Al-Agwan, PERSGA, provided the casesstudiesinthetextboxes.ZaherAl-AgwanandKanakoHasegawa,UnitedNationsEnvironment, kindly reviewed drafts of this document. Actions stated in thisdocumentwereprioritised incollaborationwithPERSGAandPERSGAmembercountries whose representatives participated in a regional workshop held inJeddah (KingdomofSaudiArabia) inApril2018.ThisdocumentwaspreparedwithintheframeworkofPERSGA’sRegionalProgrammeofMarineLitterintheRedSeaandGulfofAden.ThepreparationofthisdocumentwasfinancedbytheUnitedNationsEnvironment(UNE)withintheframeworkoftheGlobalProgramofActionfortheProtectionoftheEnvironmentoftheMarineEnvironmentfromLand-BasedActivities(GPA).©PERSGA,September2018The designations employed and the presentation of the material in thispublicationdonotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartofPERSGAconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,cityorareaorofitsauthorities,orconcerningdelimitationofitsfrontiersorboundaries.This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form foreducationalornon-profitpurposeswithoutspecialpermissionfromthecopyrightholder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. PERSGA wouldappreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as asource. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any othercommercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing fromPERSGA.PERSGAReportNumber:RP.0091PERSGACoordinationandPhotographs:ZaherAl-AgwanPrintedinSaudiArabia.Thisdocumentshouldbecitedas:PERSGA/UNE. 2018. Regional Action Plan for the Sustainable Management ofMarineLitterintheRedSeaandGulfofAden.ReportNumberRP.0091.PERSGA,Jeddah,SaudiArabia.

PERSGA–“TheRegionalOrganizationfortheConservationoftheEnvironmentof the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden” is an intergovernmental organizationdedicatedtotheconservationofthecoastalandmarineenvironmentsintheregion.TheRegionalConventionfortheConservationoftheRedSeaandGulfofAdenEnvironment(JeddahConvention)1982providesthelegalfoundationfor PERSGA. The Secretariat of PERSGAwas formally established in Jeddahfollowing the Cairo Declaration of September 1995. The PERSGA membercountriesareDjibouti,Egypt,Jordan,SaudiArabia,Somalia,Sudan,andYemen.

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List of Acronyms Acronyms DescriptionGPA GlobalProgrammeofActionLBA Land-BasedActivitiesMARPOL The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution

fromShips,1973asmodifiedbytheProtocolof1978(MARPOL73/78;MARPOLisshortformarinepollution)

MC MemberCountriesNAP NationalActionPlansPAH PolycyclicAromaticHydrocarbonsPCB PolychlorinatedBiphenylsPERSGA The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the

EnvironmentoftheRedSeaandGulfofAdenRAP RegionalActionPlanSDG SustainableDevelopmentGoalUN UnitedNationsUNE UnitedNationsEnvironmentUNEP UnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme

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Executive Summary

ThisRegionalActionPlanpertainstomarinelitterintheRedSeaandGulfofAden(thePERSGAregion).Itspurposeistoprovidearoad-maptosustainablymanagemarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.Morespecifically,itlistspracticalactionsthatif enacted will greatly reduce the amount of litter entering the marineenvironmentandtoremovelitterwhenithas.

Thereare60actionslistedinthisRegionalActionPlanandeachisrankedintermsofitsurgency.Therearefourranks:VeryHigh,High,MediumandLow.Eachactionislinkedtooneofsevencomplementarycomponents(orstrategies)designedtocomprehensivelyaddressthethreatofmarinelitter.Thecomponentsare:

Integrated Management Framework: The objective of this component is: TopromoteintegrationandcoordinationofPERSGAinitiativestosustainablymanagemarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.Therearesevenactionsproposedtoachievethis objective. Actions include the establishment of an Interagency Task ForcemadeupofmembersfromPERSGAandmembercountries.Otheractionsaretheselectionofnationalagenciesfromeachmembercountrytocoordinateactionsatthe national level andwhowill prepareNational Action Plans.National ActionPlanswillcomplementtheRegionalActionPlanbylistingcountryspecificactions.

AwarenessandEducation:Theobjectiveofthiscomponentis:Raisegovernmentand public awareness of the impact ofmarine litter to themarine environment,economy and human health through the implementation of education andawarenessprogramsand literature.Therearenineactionsproposedtoachievethis objective. Actions include raising awareness of stakeholders to theenvironmental,socialandeconomicconsequencesofmarinelitter.Otheractionsinclude targeted educational programs such as litter clean-up campaigns,newspaperarticles,thepublicationofschoolcurriculummaterialandworkshopsformorespecialisedtraining.

LegalandInstitutionalFramework:Theobjectiveofthiscomponentis:Toreviewand,ifnecessary,improvethelegalbasisforpreventinglitterenteringthemarineenvironment. There are 12 actions proposed to achieve this objective. Thiscomponent identifiesactionstoevaluate lawsrelatingtolitter ineachmembercountry,andactionstoimprovecomplianceandenforcement.Actionsalsorelatetotheratificationandenforcementofinternationalprotocolsrelatingtomarinelitter.

Encouraging Public-Private Partnerships: The objective to achieve thiscomponent is:Encouragepublic-privatepartnerships toaddressmarine litterbyremoving,preventingand/orrecyclingmarine litter in thePERSGAregion.Thereare eight actions proposed to achieve this objective. This component proposesactionstoencourageprivatecompaniesto takevoluntary initiativestoaddresstheissueofmarinelitterindependentofgovernmentlawsandregulations.Suchactionsshouldincludephasing-outsingle-useplasticbagsandotherplasticitems.Theadvantageofsuchactionsisthattheymaynotrequirepublicfundingandthusarelikelytobemoresustainable.

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RemovingMarineLitter:Theobjectivetoachievethiscomponentis:Toclean-uplitterfromthemarineenvironment.Therearesixactionsproposedtoachievethisobjective. This component focuses on actions to remove litter already in theenvironment.Oneof themoststraightforwardandcost-effectiveapproachestoremoveplasticsandotherformsofmarinelitterfromtheenvironmentisbeachclean-ups.Abeachclean-upiswheremarinelitteriscollectedfromabeachandtakentoalegallydesignatedlitterdisposalsite,suchalandfillorrecyclingplant.Otheractionsrelate toactivities thatremovelitter fromtheseafloorandwatercolumn.ResearchandMonitoring:Theobjectiveforthiscomponentis:Undertakeresearchtodeterminethesource,densityandcompositionofmarinelitterineachPERSGAmembercountry.Thereare15actionsproposedtoachievethisobjective.ResearchandmonitoringprogramsareessentialtoaddressthethreatofmarinelitterinthePERSGA region. The term ‘research’ refers to short-term hypothesis drivenexperiments designed to evaluate the effectiveness of specific managementinterventionstopreventorremovemarinelitter.Theterm‘monitoring’relatestolong-term studies focusing on quantifying trends in litter accumulation or toevaluatecompliancewithamanagementthreshold.Researchandmonitoringareessentialbecausewithoutapreciseunderstandingofthesourceoflitteritwillbechallengingtoimplementeffectivemanagement.Further,monitoringisessentialtoevaluateifoutcomes,suchasthereductioninmarinelitter,arebeingachievedandthusconfirmingtheeffectivenessofmanagementactions.Capacity Building and Training: The objective for this component is: Identifycapacity limitations and training needed to implement actions. There are threeactions proposed to achieve this objective. Stakeholders responsible forimplementing actions in this Regional Action Plan may require new skills andknowledge.PERSGAcouldfacilitatethisthroughdevelopingtrainingmaterialandprograms,workshops convenedby subjectmatterexperts, on-line coursesanddevelopingguidelines.Trainingcoursescouldcoversubjectsrangingfromraisingawareness about microplastic to explaining advanced litter monitoringtechniques.

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Introduction Litter(alsocalleddebris,solidwaste,garbageortrash)isubiquitousthroughouttheworld’soceansandisasignificantthreattomarineandcoastalbiodiversity(Weis,2015).Marinelittercanbedefinedas“…..anymanufacturedorprocessedsolidwastematerial(typicallyinert)thatentersthemarineenvironmentfromanysource” (PERSGA, 2008)1 . Marine litter is also seen as a public health issue(Seltenrich, 2015) and can be detrimental toeconomic activity such as coastaltourism(Ballanceetal.,2000).Marinelitterdoesn’tdiscriminateamongnationalmarine boundaries because currents will move litter across borders. For thisreason,managementactiontoaddressmarinelitterwillneedtobecoordinatedataregionalratherthanatanationallevel.In2010alone,4.8to12.7millionmetrictonsofplasticlitterwereestimatedtohave entered the ocean from 192 coastal countries (Jambeck et al., 2015).According to the same authors, countries contributing the greatest amount ofplastictotheoceanswereChina,VietnamandIndonesia.Worldwide,about80%oflitterenteringthemarineenvironmentislandbased(Weis,2015),eitherbeingblowninbywindordischargedfromrivers.Theremaining20%isocean-basedhaving entered the ocean fromvessels, oil platforms or jetties (also known aspiers).

Outline of this RAP ThisRegionalActionPlan(RAP)isstructuredinthefollowingway:

1. MarineLitterinthePERSGARegion:ProvidesanoverviewofthetypesandquantitiesofmarinelitterobservedintheRedSeaandGulfofAden.

2. Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Marine Litter:Summarisesthetypesofimpactsassociatedwithmarinelitter.

3. TheRoleofPERSGAinManagingMarineLitter:IdentifiesPERSGAroletomitigatetheimpactofmarinelitter.

4. BackgroundtothisRAP:ProvidescontexttotheRAPandhowitrelatestoproposedNationalActionPlans(NAPs).

5. FrameworkforAction:Describesalogicalframeworktoimplementandevaluateactionstoaddressmarinelitter.

6. TheActions:Liststheactionsforsevencomponents.

1UNEPhasasimilardefinition“….anypersistent,manufacturedorprocessedsolidmaterialdiscarded,disposedoforabandonedinthemarineandcoastalenvironment”(PERSGA,2014).

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Marine Litter in the PERSGA Region TheRegionalOrganizationfortheConservationoftheEnvironmentoftheRedSeaand Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) recognises litter as a major threat to the marineenvironment2(PERSGA,2008).PERSGA(2008)providedadetailedsummaryoftheextentofmarinelitterintheRedSeaandGulfofAden(hereafter‘thePERSGAregion’). Rather than repeating that information, a summary of more recentlypublisheddataisgivenhere.Table1providesalistoftheprincipletypesofmarinelitter(bothmaterialandform)foundinthePERSGAregion(PERSGA,2014;Dr.Agwan, unpublished data). Comparedwith someAsian countries, thepotentialcontributionofplastictotheoceanfromPERSGAmembercountriesismuchless(Jambeck et al., 2015). For instance, the maximum amount of plastic wasteavailable to enter the ocean in 2010 from China was >5 million metric tonscompared with between 0.01 to 1 million metric tons for PERSGA membercountries (Jambeck et al., 2015).Other studieshave shown that theamountofplasticmaterialintheRedSeaislessthansomeotherregionalseas.Martietal.(2017) concluded that plastic fragments (excluding fibres) in the upper watercolumnoftheeasternRedSea(mean3,546fragments/km2)isabout40timeslessthantheMediterraneanSea(147,500fragments/km2:sourceRuiz-Orejonetal.,2016).Al-NajjarandAl-Shyab(2011)reportedmoderatetohighlevelsofmarinelitter on the seafloor in shallow waters off Jordan. They found marine litterdensities on the seafloor ranged from1 to6 items/m2, and themost commonitemswerecansandplastics.Table1:CommontypesofmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion

Material FormPlastics Fragment,sheets,bags,containers,pellets,ropes,bottlesPolystyrene* Cups,packaging,buoysNylon* Fishingnets,fishinglineRubber Gloves,bootsWood Constructiontimber,pallets,fragmentsofbothMetals Drinkcans,oildrums,aerosolcontainers,scrapSanitary SewagerelatedlitterPaper/cardboard Books,newspaper,wrappingmaterialCloth Clothing,furnishing,shoesGlass Bottles,lightbulbsCeramics Pottery

*Thesearetypesofplastics.

2Inthisreport,thephrase‘marineenvironment’generally,unlessstatedotherwise,collectivelyreferstomarineandcoastalenvironments,andassociatedbiodiversity.

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Environmental, Health and Economic Impacts of Marine Litter PERSGA(2008)providedadetailedsummaryoftheimpactoflitterinthemarineenvironment. Since publication of that report, there has been a considerableamountofnewinformationontheimpactofmarinelitterand,morespecifically,inrelationtoplastics.Thefocusofthissectionistocomplementtheinformationin PERSGA (2008) by providing a summary of more recent literature. Theenvironmental impact of marine litter is mainly physical but can be chemical.Largepiecesoflittercancrushorsmothersessilemarineorganismssuchashardcoralsandseagrasses,whilesmallerpieces,especiallyplastics,canbeconsumedbywhales,sharks,turtlesandseabirds(Lietal.,2016).Plasticsinthestomachsofsomemarineorganismsmaycause starvationbybecoming lodged indigestivetracts. Seabirds are particularly vulnerable to this type of pollution and it ispredictedthat186speciesofseabirdareatriskofplasticingestion(Wilcoxetal.,2015).Marinemammals,fishesandbirdscanbecomeentangledinmarinelitter,suchasdiscardednetsorfishingline,leadingtodrowning(Laist,1997).Morerecently,Lamb et al. (2018) presented evidence that plastic litter may increase thesusceptibilityofreef-buildingcoralstodisease.Theyfoundthatwhereplastichadcomeintocontactwithcoral,thelikelihoodofthepresenceofdiseaserosefrom4percentto89percent-a20-foldincrease.Marine litter has significant humanhealth implications (Williams et al., 2013).Previously,healthconcernslargelyfocusedonbrokenglassorusedsyringesonbeaches.Morerecently,thereisthegrowingconcernabouttheaccumulationofpollutants in the tissues of seafood species that have ingested marine litter(Rochman et al., 2015). Ingestion of tiny plastics can harmhumans and otherorganisms in multiple ways: a) once in the ocean, plastics can sorb highconcentrationsoftoxicandbioaccumulatingchemicals3,whichcanleachoutintothegut;b)plasticscontaintheirownchemicals,suchasadditives,thatcanaffecttheendocrinesystem;and3)nano-sizedplasticparticlesmayhavethepotentialtopassthroughtheplacentaandtheblood-brainbarrierinhumans(Seltenrich,2015).Marinelittercanhaveeconomicimpactsbycompromisingtheaestheticvaluesofimportant tourist sites. For instance, Ballanceet al. (2000) reported that litterdensities>10largeitems/m2ofbeachwoulddeter40%offoreigntouristsfromreturningtoCapeTown,SouthAfrica.Littercanalsogetentangled innetsandpropellers, andor entrained inwater intake pipes on vessels leading to costlyenginerepairsandreducedfishingeffort.Thereisalsothecostassociatedwithremovinglitterfromtheenvironment,whichcanamounttomillionsofdollarsperyearinsomecountries(UNEP,2011).3SuchasPolycyclicAromaticHydrocarbons(PAHs),PolychlorinatedBiphenyls(PCBs)andDDT.

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The threat of marine litter to the natural environment and human health hasincreased with the advent of plastics. Plastic is a synthetic or semi-syntheticorganic chemical. While plastics may be made from just about any organicchemical,mostindustrialplasticsaremadefromoilorgas-basedproducts.Thename"plastic"referstothepropertyofplasticity,whichistheabilitytodeformwithout breaking. The major environmental concern with plastic is that itgenerallycannotbebrokendownbybiologicalprocesses4andthuspersistintheenvironmentforaverylongtime.TheapproximatedegradationtimeforplasticsandothercommonformsoflitteraregiveninTable2.Table2:Decompositionratesforcommonlitter

Material DegradationTime*PaperTowel 2-4weeksBananaandOrangePeel 2-5weeksNewspaper 6weeksAppleCore 2monthsWaxedMilkCarton 3monthsPlywood 1-3yearsWoolSock 1-5yearsPlasticBag 10-20yearsNylonFabric 30-40yearsLeather 50yearsTinCan 50yearsRubber-BootSole 50-80yearsFoamedPlasticCup 50yearsFoamedPlasticBuoy 80yearsAluminiumCan 80-200yearsDisposableDiaper/Nappy 450yearsPlasticBeverageBottle 450yearsMonofilamentFishingLine 600yearsGlassBottle 1millionyears

(fromUSNationalParkServices–MoteMarineLab)*Thedegradationtimesofthesematerialswillvarydepending,inpart,ontheenvironmentalconditionsinwhichtheyweredeposited.Most plasticswill becomebrittlewhen exposed to ultra-violet light and breakdown into smaller pieces. Pieces less than 5mm are commonly calledmicroplastics (Seltenrich,2015).Microplastics come from a variety of sources,including larger plastic litter that degrade into smaller pieces. In addition,microbeads 5 , a type of microplastic, are very tiny pieces of manufacturedpolyethylene plastic that are added to some facial cleansers and toothpastes(NOAA,2018).Tinyparticlesofplasticmaybeconsumedbyanimalssuchashard

4Atleastonespeciesofbacteriaisknowntoconsumepolyethyleneterephthalate,theplasticusedtomakewaterbottles(Yoshidaetal.,2016)5Microbeadsarecommerciallyavailablefrom0.01mmto1mminsizeandhavereplacednaturalingredientssuchaswalnutkernels.Microbeadshavebeenbannedinsomecountries.

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corals(Halletal.,2015),zooplankton(Coleetal.,2013)andfishes(DavisonandAsch,2011),andmayeventuallybepassedupthefoodchainintohumans.The sustainablemanagementofmarine litter ismoreurgent thanever.This isbecause of the potential for marine litter to weaken the resilience of marineecosystemstootherthreatssuchasclimatechange,overfishinganddeclinesinwater quality (Lamb et al., 2018). These threats may act synergistically withmarinelittertoreducethecapacityofmarineecosystemstoresistdisturbanceaswellasreduceratesofrecovery.

The Role of PERSGA in Managing Marine Litter PERSGAcoordinatesenvironmentalprogramsandactivitiesincooperationwithmember countries. The program titled ‘Protection of the Marine Environmentfrom Land-Based Activities’ is an important component of the PERSGAframework.Thisprogramislinkedtothe‘ProtocolConcerningtheProtectionoftheMarineEnvironment fromLand-BasedActivities in theRedSeaandGulfofAden(2005)6’.AccordingtoArticle7oftheProtocol,contractingpartiescommitthemselvesto takeactionstoeliminatesolidwasteandtocooperatewitheachotherand internationalagencies toachievethisaim(refer toBox2 forspecificwordingonthecommitment).PERSGAhaspreparedthisRAP,incollaborationwithmembercountries,tomeet,in part, their commitments to the Protocol. More broadly, this RAP aims tocontributetothesustainablemanagementofmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.IncontextofthisRAP,sustainablemanagementofmarinelittermeansdevelopingcost-effectivewaystopreventlitterfromenteringthemarineenvironmentandtoremovelitterwhenithas.TheactivitiesofPERSGAandmembercountriestotacklemarinelittershouldnotbeconsideredinisolation.Instead,theseactivitiesshouldbeseenintermsofaglobal partnership to mitigate the effects of marine litter, especially plastics,worldwide.For instance, theRAPwillallowmembercountries tocontributetoachievementoftheUNDP’sSustainableDevelopmentGoal(SDG)14.Target14.1ofGoal14states‘By2025,preventandsignificantlyreducemarinepollutionofallkinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris andnutrientpollution’.TheactivitiesassociatedwiththisRAPcouldbeusedtocollectdatarelatingto indicatorsofGoal14,suchasmeasuring floatingplasticdebris(14.1.1)7.

6InaccordancewithArticleIIIoftheJeddahConvention,thisProtocolwasformulated.7https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14

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Background to this RAP ThisRAP isdesigned to complementPERSGA’s coralRAP (PERSGA,2003)andmangroveRAP(PERSGA,2004),bothofwhichacknowledgethethreatofmarinelittertocoralassemblagesandmangrovescommunities,respectively.InthecoralandmangroveRAPs,marine litter isaddressedunderthesectiontitled ‘ImpactfromShippingandMarinePollution’.InthisRAP,theobjectiveandactionsrelatingtomarinelitterfromvesselsaresimilartotheearlierRAPsbutarenowplacedinthesectiontitled‘LegalandInstitutionalFramework’.Further,thisRAPfollowsasimilar report structure as those earlier RAPs to maintain institutionalconsistency.ThisRAPalsobuildson the report titled ‘MarineLitter in the PERSGARegion’(PERSGA,2008)whichlistsactionsandstrategiestopreventandremovelitter.SincepublicationofPERSGA(2008),someof theproposedactions,suchas thedevelopment of a regional protocol to survey litter on beaches, have beenimplemented.Tomaintain consistencywithPERSGA (2008), someof the sameactions are reproduced in this RAP. However, this RAP differs from PERSGA(2008)byexpandingthenumberofstrategies(calledcomponents)toaddresstheissueofmarinelitter.Similar to the coral andmangroveRAPs, thisRAP is a regional commitment toaddress the threatofmarine litter in thePERSGAregion. In collaborationwithmembercountries, thisRAPwillbecoordinatedataregional levelbyPERSGA.AlthoughtheRAPwillbecoordinatedataregionallevel,implementationofmanyoftheactionsrecommendedintheRAPmustbedoneatthenationallevelthroughNationalActionPlans(NAP).Thisisbecause:

1. Theimpactofmarinelittervariesamongmembercountries;2. Actionswillvaryintermsofnationalpriority;3. Fine-scaleplanning,suchasbudgeting,isbeyondthescopeofthisRAP;and4. Countrieswillvaryintheircapacitiestoimplementactions.

NAPswillbeusedto:

• Listpriorityactionsaccordingtomembercountryneeds;• Highlightthenationalcapacitytoimplementactions;• Identifytrainingneedstoimplementactions;• Presentrealisticbudgetstoimplementactions;• Determine time-frames and set performance indicators for results and

outcomesforNAPs;• IllustratehowNAPswillbeintegratedintonationalstrategies,and• Listnationalstakeholdersinvolvedandtheirroles.

To coordinate the RAP and interface between government and donors, anInteragencyTaskForce8shouldbeestablished.TheInteragencyTaskForcewouldbe made up of staff from PERSGA and the national agencies assigned to be8IntheCoralandMangroveRAPs,theInteragencyTaskForceiscalleda‘steeringcommittee’.AbenefitoftheInteragencyTaskForceisassigningresponsibilityoftheimplementationoftheRAPandNAPstoindividualsatboththeregionalandnationallevels.

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responsibleformanaginglitteratthecountrylevel.TheInteragencyTaskForcecouldconveneinpersonorviaconferencecalls,todiscussprogresswithactionslisted in the RAP and NAPs. The Interagency Task Force would also evaluateprogressoftheRAPandNAPs.

Framework for Action In this RAP a framework is proposed to implement actions in a logical andstructuredway.This frameworkconsistsof the following steps: identifybroadcomponentstoaddressmarinelitter,describeassociatedobjectives,identifytheactions to achieve objectives and evaluate if actions were implemented andobjectivesachieved.The framework is shownconceptually inFigure1and theterminologyexplainedinthetext.

Figure1:Frameworktoaddresstheissueofmarinelitter

Therearesevenbroadcomponents(orstrategies)proposedtotackletheissueofmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.Thecomponentsare:1.IntegratedManagementFramework2.AwarenessandEducation3.LegalandInstitutionalFramework4.EncouragingPublic-Private-Partnerships5.RemovingMarineLitter6.ResearchandMonitoring7.CapacityBuildingandTraining

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As noted earlier, this list of seven components has been expanded from threecomponents listed in PERSGA (2008). Expanding the list of components wasnecessarytoprovideamorecomprehensivelistofstrategiesrequiredtotacklethegrowingthreatofmarinelitter.With the exception of Component 1 ‘Integrated Management Framework’, thecomponentsarenotnecessarilylistedinorderofpriority.Forinstance,giventhelimitedamountofquantitativedataonthesource,compositionandfateofmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion,thecomponenttitled‘ResearchandMonitoring’mightbe a natural priority to be implemented following Component1. Without adetailedunderstandingofthesourceofmarinelitteratalocalscaleitwillnotbepossible to determine the most appropriate actions to prevent further litterenteringthemarineenvironment.Inaddition,obtainingdataonthecompositionandquantityofmarinelitterwillpermittheestablishmentofbaselinedatafromwhichtoevaluateiflitter-preventativeactionshavebeensuccessfulatreducinglitterinthemarineenvironment.Eachcomponentislinkedtoakeyobjective.Objectivesallowcomponentstobeexpressed in terms of what is actually being sought or aimed at. Whereappropriate,objectivesareconsistentwithearlierPERSGAdocumentspertainingtothemanagementofmarinelitter.Toachieveeachobjective,multipleactionswillberequired.Someoftheactionsneedtobeenactedatregional levelbyPERSGA,whileothersactionsaremoreappropriately enacted at the national (i.e. country) level. The urgency ofimplementationwillvary.ThefollowingpriorityranksareusedtocategorisethelevelofurgencyforeachactionlistedinthisRAP9:

• VeryHighPriority(veryurgentactionwhereimmediateactionisdesirableortheaction(e.g.establishmentofanInteragencyTaskForce)isrequiredtofacilitatefurtheractions)(preferablycommencingwithin1yearofRAPbeingapproved);

• HighPriority(urgentaction)(preferablycommencingwithin2years);• MediumPriority(preferablycommencingwithin3years);• LowPriority(preferablycommencingwithin4years).

Rankingactionsinthiswayisusefulbecauseitallowsaphasedapproachtotheimplementationofactions.Itisalsousefultohelpidentifywherelimitedbudgetsmightinitiallybefocused.Time-framesarebenchmarkedagainstthetimewhentheRAPisformallyapproved.ToidentifythemostappropriateactionsforthisRAPandtoevaluatetheirpriorityforimplementation,PERSGAundertooktwotaskspriortopublicationofthisRAP.First, a questionnaire (Appendix 1) was sent to individuals in all membercountriesseekinginformationonthetypesofactionsneededtoaddressmarinelitterintheirrespectivecountriesandtolearnwhatwasalreadybeingdoneatthe

9TheseranksaredesignedtobemorestraightforwardthanthoseusedinthecoralandmangroveRAPs,whichused:VeryUrgentAction,UrgentAction;andPriorityAction.

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nationalleveltoaddressthisissue.Second,inApril2018,aworkshopwasheldatthePERSGAofficeinJeddah,SaudiArabia,whereparticipantsfromallmembercountriesandPERSGAstaff collectively reviewed thedraftRAPandprioritisedactions.TheresultsofthesetwotaskshavebeenincorporatedintothisRAP.This RAP recognises the need for evaluation of achievement of objectives andactions.Expectedresults,associatetime-frames10andperformanceindicatorsareoffered for each component to provide broad-level guidance in terms of anevaluation. More specifically, however, the evaluation should focus on twoaspects:outputsandoutcomes.Evaluatingoutputsmeanscheckingactionshavebeen implemented while evaluating outcomes relates to assessing if theabundanceofmarine litterhasdeclinedasa resultof actions. It isbeyond thescopeofthisRAPtodescribeindetailhowtheevaluationwillbedone.Instead,the detailed methodology will need to be presented in a ‘monitoring andevaluationplan’tobedevelopedsoonaftertheRAPisapproved.Thismonitoringandevaluationplanwilloperationalisetheobjectivesandactionsbylinkingthesetoquantifiableindicatorvariablesandtargets.Theplanwillalsolistthemethodsto measure indicators and who should do the measuring and evaluation. It isrecommendedthatthisRAPbereviewedinitsentiretytenyearsafteritsformalapproval by PERSGA. However, it is desirable that the RAP and NAPs areperiodicallyreviewedandupdatedasrequiredbefore10years.Lastly,thereistheimportantissueofhowtheactionslistedinthisRAPwillbefinanced.Actionsatthenationallevelwillgenerallybefundedatthecountrylevel.However,asnotedinPERSGA(2008),theprotectionofthemarineenvironmentfromlittercannotbeachievedthroughgovernmentactionsaloneorbydependingentirelyonpublicfunds.ThisisareasonwhyastrategyinthisRAPistopromoteprivate companies and other non-government entities to undertake actions toreducetheimpactofmarinelitteratthenationallevel.IntermsofregionalscaleactionslistedinthisRAP,PERSGAcouldintegratesomeoftheseintoitsexistingworkplans.However,toimplementallactionslistedintheRAPwillrequirealargefinancialcommitment.Therefore,theinitialfocuswillbetoestablishbudgetsforactionswith the highest priority. Potential sources for finance include: Centralgovernmentbudgetsofthemembercountries;Internationaldonoragencies;theprivatesector(companies);anddonationsandgrants.AfinancialplanidentifyingaroadmaptofundtheactionsinthisRAPwillneedtobedevelopedaftertheRAPisapproved.

The Actions Inthissection,actionsarepresentedforthesevencomponentsdescribedearlier.For simplicity, actions are presented in Tables. Each Tables has the followingcolumnheadings:

• Column1:#:Actionnumber

10Thetime-framesproposedforexpectedresultswillbebenchmarkedagainstthedatewhentheRAPisformallyapprovedbyPERSGA.

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• Column2:Actiondescription• Column3:Lead(e.g.Leadagency:PERSGAorMemberCountries(MC))• Column4:Priorityrank(e.g.VeryHigh,High,MediumorLow)• Column5:Expectedresults(ER)(whatisexpectedfollowingtheaction)• Column6:Time-framesforER(Time-framesforexpectedresults)• Column 7: Performance indicators (used to measure achievement of

outputsoroutcomes)‘Priorityranks’identifythelevelofurgencyproposedforeachaction.Expectedresults(ER) identifywhat isexpected followimplementationof theaction.The‘time-framesforER’areindicativeonly,anddonotreflectthedefinitionsusedforthepriorityranks(referto‘FrameworkforAction’).Thisisbecausethedefinitionsforpriorityranksrelatetothetimewhentheactionshouldcommence,whereas‘time-framesforER’relatetowhentheoutcomesofactionsshouldbeachieved.Forinstance,anactionwithapriorityrankofVeryHighshouldcommencewithinoneyearof theapprovalof theRAP,but the ‘time-frames forER’ for thatsameaction will usually be one or more years after the commencement date. Insituations where it is not practical to nominate a time-frame for outcomes oroutputs,thephrases‘Tobedetermined’or‘Assoonasrealisticallypossible’areused.Thesecanbeupdatedwhenthetimingofoutcomesoroutputscanbemorepreciselyestimated.

Component 1: Integrated Management Framework The issue of marine litter, including its environmental, social and economicimpacts, and the actions to prevent and remove marine litter are varied andcomplex. This is especially relevant in the PERSGA region where membercountries have different marine litter priorities and vary in their capacities toaddress the threat of marine litter. In addition, different stakeholders will beinvolvedtohelpimplementactionsatboththeregionalandnationallevels,andtobe successful,mustwork together collaboratively.Adding to this complexity isthat some country members have international obligations relating to marinelitter. Consequently, tosustainablymanagemarine litter inthePERSGAregionwill require careful integration of multiple actions and the coordination ofmultiplestakeholdersandpartners.Tohelpachievethisoutcome,implementingthisRAPandassociatedactionswillrequireastructuredmanagementframework.This structuredmanagement frameworkbeginswithPERSGA’s coordinationofthe RAP at the regional scale, while appointed national agencies, from eachmembercountry,willimplementactionsatthenationallevel.Nationalagencies,inconsultationwithFocalPoints,willberesponsibleforthedevelopmentoftheNAPs.National agencieswill need to coordinatewith PERSGAon training andcapacitybuilding.PERSGAandnationalagencieswillalsoneedtoworkcloselytoevaluate the implementation of NAPs to ensure actions are implemented andobjectives are being achieved. The proposed Interagency Task Force will beinstrumental in helping coordinate and harmonise actions at the regional andnationalscale.

17

17

The objective of Component 1 is: To promote integration and coordination ofPERSGAinitiativestosustainablymanagemarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.Therearesevenactionsproposedtoachievethisobjective.TheseareshowninTable3.

18

18

Table3:IntegratedManagementFrameworkActions.

#Actio

nLead

Priority

rank

Expectedresults(E

R)

Time

fram

esfor

ER

Performance

indicators

IAp

pointanationalagencyfrom

eachmem

bercountryto

manageandcontrolm

arinelittera

ctivitiesatthenationallevel.

MC

Very

High

Eachmem

bercountry

appointsnational

agencytobe

responsiblefor

marinelitter

With

in2

years

Anatio

nalagency

appointedfrom

each

mem

bercountry

IIDe

veloparegionalInteragencyTaskForceonmarinelitter.

PERS

GAVery

High

PERS

GAform

saTask

Forcemadeupof

mem

bersfrom

PE

RSGA

and

appointednatio

nal

agencies

With

in2

years

Allm

embers

appointedtoTask

Force

III

Developatemplateandguidelinesforp

reparin

gaNA

P.

PERS

GAVery

High

PERS

GAdevelopsa

regionaltemplateto

assistmem

ber

countriesp

repare

theirN

APs

With

in2

years

TemplateforN

AP

IV

Theappointednatio

nalagencyfrom

eachmem

bercountryto

takeresponsibilityford

evelopingandimplem

entin

gaNA

P.

MC

Very

High

Eachmem

bercountry

preparesaNAP

With

in2

years[or

linkedto

template]

ApprovedNAP

VProvidenatio

nalagenciesw

ithtechnicalsupporttodevelop

theirN

APs.

PERS

GA

Very

High

PERS

GAorganisesa

NAPwritin

gworkshopor

consultanttovisit

natio

nalagenciesto

With

in2

years

NAPwritin

gworkshop

oraco

nsultanthas

metwith

eachnatio

nal

agencytosu

pportthe

writin

goftheNA

P

19

19

providesupportfor

NAP

VI

Periodicallyreview

and

evaluatehowtheNA

Psarebeing

implem

entedineachmem

bercountry.

PERS

GAHigh

Review

NAP

sWith

in3

years[and

on-going]

EachNAP

review

ed

everytw

oyears

VII

Establishamonito

ringand

evaluationplan(M

&EPlan)that

describesw

henandhowtheRA

Pwillbeevaluatedinterm

sof

achievingobjectivesandactions.

PERS

GAMediumPE

RSGA

preparesa

‘M&EPlan’

With

in4

years

M&EPlan

20

20

Component 2: Awareness and Education Awarenessisknowledgeorperceptionofasituationorfact.Raisingawarenessofthegeneralpublic,includingfishers,vesseloperatorsanddecisionmakerstotheissue of marine litter is an important step in preventing the intentional andunintentionaldisposaloflitterinthemarineenvironment.Onewaytoincreaseawareness is through education, which is the act or process of imparting oracquiringgeneralknowledge.SomePERSGAmembercountrieshaveconsiderableexperienceinraisingpublicawarenessonmarinelitter.Activitiestoraisepublicawarenessabouttheproblemofmarinelitterintheregionstartedasfarbackasthe1990sinYemen(DouAbulet al., 1999) and possibly earlier in other member countries. In early 2000,PERSGA conducted beach clean-up campaigns during ‘PERSGA Day’ (26September) in member countries. Associated with these campaigns wereactivitiestoraiseawarenessofthethreatofmarinelittertothePERSGAregion.In2007,PERSGAlaunchedthe“Clean-upOurSeas”initiative(refertoBox1).Thisinitiative was the most important event undertaken by PERSGA within itsframeworkofraisingawarenesstoprotectthemarineenvironmentfromlitter.In2011,PERSGAdevelopedaRegionalStrategy(RS)forenvironmentalawarenessforsustainabledevelopmentintheRedSeaandGulfofAden.UnderthisRS,clean-up campaignswere conducted. Consequently,with this long history ofmarinelitter prevention and clean-up activities there is regional expertise andexperiencesthatshouldbesharedamongmembercountries.The threat from marine litter is increasing, which is leading to worldwidecampaignstoaddresstheissueofmarinelitter.Onesuchcampaignis#CleanSeascampaignpromotedbyUNEnvironment.Aprimaryaimof this campaign is toraise awareness of the threat of plastics in the marine environment and theencouragementofpoliciestoreduceplasticuse.Participatinginglobalinitiativessuchasthishasthebenefitofprovidingaforumtoshareideasandresources.Thecostofproducingawarenessandeducationmaterialisnotcheapandmaybebeyond the resources of some PERSGA country members. Consequently,consideration could be given to pooling resources and getting awareness andeducational material produced by PERSGA for distribution to all membercountries.Appendix2provideslinkstowebsiteswithexamplesofmarinelittereducational and awarenessmaterial used in other partsof theworld. Some ofthesecouldpotentiallybemodifiedforuseinthePERSGAregion.

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21

TheobjectiveofComponent2is:Raisegovernmentandpublicawarenessof theimpact of marine litter to the marine environment, economy and human healththroughtheimplementationofeducationandawarenessprogramsandliterature.There are nine actions proposed to achieve this objective. These are shown inTable4.

Box1:PERSGAClean-UpOurSeascampaignSince2007,PERSGAhasinitiatedaregionallittercampaignunderthesloganof“Clean-upOurSeas”.Theaimofthe“Clean-upOurSeas”campaignistoraiseawarenessoftheimpactofmarinelitteronthemarineenvironmentinthePERSGAregion.ThisinitiativewasfirstundertakenincollaborationwiththeUNEnvironmentRegionalSeasProgramme/GPAUnit.Avarietyofawarenessmaterialsweredistributedtoparticipantsandincludedposters,t-shirtswithlogosandcaps.Beachclean-upeventswerelaunchedinYemenandDjiboutiincoordinationwithnationalFocalPointsandlocalstakeholderssuchasschoolstudents.Anunderwatermarinelitterclean-upcampaignwasalsolaunchedinJeddah,SaudiArabia,incoordinationwiththenationalFocalPointsandaprivatedivecentre(Figure2).Figure2:Underwaterclean-upevent,Jeddah,SaudiArabia.

22

22

Table4:RaisingAwarenessandEducationActions

#

Action

Lead

Priority

rank

Expectedresults(ER)

Time

framesfor

ER

Performance

indicators

IDevelopandpublishmarinelittereducationalandawareness

material,forarangeofstakeholders,whichcanbeshared

amongmembercountries.

PERSGAHigh

Productionofgeneral

educationalmaterial

Within3

years

Educationalmaterial

(tobedetermined)

II

Produce,publishand/ordisseminateeducationand

awarenessmaterialsspecifictoeachmembercountry,using

electronicmedia,informationsheets,brochure,booklets,

videos,CDsandothermediafor:

•Schoolchildrenrelatingtoimpactsoflitteringonbeaches

andhumanhealth;

•Fishermenonimpactsofabandonedfishinggearandother

litteronmarineresourcesandhabitats;

•Divingcentresonimpactstomarinelifeandhabitats;

•Privatecompaniesonhowthematerialtheysellorproduce

cancontributetolitterinthemarineenvironment;

•Policymakersandotherdecision-makersonnegativeeffects

ofmarinelitterandimportanceofactionstosustainably

managemarinelitter.

MC

Very

High

Productionofcountry-

specificeducational

material

Within2

years

Educationmaterial(to

bedeterminedper

country)

III

Organiseawarenessworkshopsontheimpactofmarinelitter

forvariousstakeholders,suchasteachersandgovernment

officials.

MC

High

Litterawareness

workshopsineach

membercountryfor

variousstakeholders

Within3

years

Atleastoneawareness

workshoppercountry

IVOrganiseworkshopstoimprovemedia/awarenessraising

skillstoallowinformationonmarinelittertobedisseminated

effectivelytothepublicandtodevelopadvocacyskillsto

influencegovernmentpolicy.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAconvenesa

workshopon

media/awareness/

advocacyskills

Within3

years

Atleastoneregional

workshoponmedia

andadvocacyskills

23

23

V

Developstronglinkageswithkeygovernmentdepartmentsto

informofficials/decision-makersaboutimportant

informationrelatingtotheenvironmentaleffectsofmarine

litter.

MC

High

Meetingswithminister

ordeputyministerfor

environmentinrelation

tomarinelitter

Within3

years

Atleastonemeeting

withtheminister/

deputyministerfor

environmentperyear

VI

Developstronglinkageswithnewspaperreporters/editorsto

encouragethemtocommunicateinformationaboutthe

environmentalandhealthimpactsofmarinelitter.

MC

High

Meetingswithlocal

newspapereditorsto

discusspotential

storiesrelatingto

marinelitter

Within3

years

Atleastone

newspaperarticleon

marinelitterperyear

(permembercountry)

VIIUse‘Al-Sambouk’(PERSGAnewsletter)toregularlyshare

withmembercountriestheresultsofactionstopreventand

removelitterinthePERSGAregion.

PERSGAHigh

Publishmarinelitter

articlesin‘Al-Sambouk’Within3

years

Atleasttwoarticleson

marinelitterperyear

VIIIEncouragemembercountriestocontinuetoundertake

activitiesassociatedwithPERSGA’s‘Clean-upOurSeas’

campaign.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAorganisesa

beachclean-upactivity

ineachmember

countryperyear

Within3

years

Atleastone-PERSGA

sponsoredbeach

clean-upcampaignper

year

IXEncouragemembercountriestoparticipateininternational

campaignssuchasthe#CleanSeascampaign.

PERSGAHigh

Eachmembercountry

toparticipateinthe

#CleanSeascampaign

Within3

years

Eachmembercountry

makesatleastone

commitmentunder

#CleanSeas(e.g.

informcitizensorpass

newlaws)

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24

Component 3: Legal and Institutional Framework AllPERSGAmembercountrieshavenationalandmunicipality(e.g.stateorcity)lawsordecrees,whichprovidea legal foundation for themanagementof litter(PERSGA, 2008). In addition, PERSGAmember countries are signatories to thePERSGA Protocol Concerning the Protection of the Marine Environment fromLand-BasedActivities(LBAProtocol)Article7ManagementofSolidWastes(refertoBox2).

Box2:Article7‘ManagementofSolidWastes’“ParalleltotheGlobalProgrammeofAction,wastesormarinelitterdumpedinthecoastalzoneshouldbetakenintoconsiderationtoavoidtherisksimposedonmarinelife.AccordingtotheAssessmentReport,dumpingsolidwastesinthecoastalzoneoftheProtocolArearepresentsamajorcauseofdamagetocoastalandmarinehabitatsaswellasthedestructionofitsaestheticvalues.Thisultimatelyresultsinnegativeimpactsoncoastaldevelopment,particularlythetouristindustry.Incinerationofwastesisaprocessthatproducesnumerouspersistent,toxicandbiologicallyaccumulativeemissions.Therefore,theContractingPartiescommitthemselvesasfollowsto:

1. Takingallappropriateactiontoensureelimination,tothegreatestextentpossible,ofthesolidwastesandlitterreachingthemarineandcoastalenvironmentbypreventionorreductionofsolidwastegenerationandbyintroductionofenhancementstowastetreatment,includingmethodsofcollectionandrecyclingandfinaldisposalthereof.

2. Cooperatingwitheachother,andwithinternationalorganizations,onexchangeofinformationrelevanttothepracticesandexperiencesrelatingtosolidwastemanagement,recycling,reuse,andcleanerproductionprocesses.”

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25

MostPERSGAmembercountriesarealsosignatoriestotheMARPOLconvention11.TheInternationalConventionforthePreventionofPollutionfromShips(MARPOLisshortformarinepollution)isoneofthemostimportantinternationalmarineenvironmentalconventions.MARPOLAnnexV(RegulationsforthePreventionofPollutionbyGarbagefromShips)ismostrelevanttothisRAP.AnnexVappliestoall ships12,whichmeansall vesselsoperating in themarineenvironment, frommerchant ships to fixed or floating platforms to non-commercial ships likepleasure crafts and yachts. In relation to thisRAP, themost important part ofAnnexVistheobligationofgovernmentstoensureprovisionoflitterreceptionfacilities at ports and a complete ban of dumping plastic into the ocean. Theeffectiveness of ships to comply with the discharge requirements of MARPOLdepends largely upon the availability of adequate port reception facilities,especiallywithinspecialareas,whichincludestheRedSea.However,theRedSeaSpecialArearequirementshavenotyettakeneffectbecauseoflackofnotificationsfromMARPOLPartieswhosecoastlinesbordertheArearegardingtheexistenceofadequatereceptionfacilities13.Another important international convention relating to marine litter is theConvention on the Prevention ofMarine Pollution by Dumping ofWastes andOtherMatter1972 (commonly referred to as the LondonConvention)with its1996Protocol (theLondonProtocol).TheLondonConvention/Protocol coversthecontrolofdumpingofwasteatseathathasbeengeneratedonland.Itrequiresthe signatories to prohibit dumping of persistent plastics and other non-biodegradablematerialsintothesea.Theadequacyofnationallawstoaddressthecurrentscaleofmarinelitter,andthecapacityoflocalinstitutionstoregulateandenforcetheselawshasnotbeenformallyevaluatedinthePERSGAregion.However,thelargeamountsofhouseholdandindustriallitteronbeachesadjacenttosomelargecoastaltownsinthePERSGAregion(PERSGA2008,2014)wouldsuggestthatthelawsorthecapacitytoenforcelawsorbotharecurrentlyinadequate.Intermsofinternationallaw,NAS (2009) suggests that MARPOL and the London Convention and Protocolprovideadequatecoveragetoreducelitterenteringthemarineenvironment,buttheirimplementationandenforcementneedtobeimproved.TheobjectiveofComponent3is:Toreviewand,ifnecessary,improvethelegalbasisfor preventing litter entering the marine environment. There are 12 actionsproposedtoachievethisobjective.TheactionsareshowninTable5.

11AtthetimeofpreparingthisRAP,YemenandSomaliawerenotsignatoriestoMARPOL.12Unlessexpresslyprovidedotherwise.13MEPC.1/Circ.778/Rev.2;6April2017:MEPCCircularfromtheIMO

26

23

V

Developstronglinkageswithkeygovernmentdepartmentsto

informofficials/decision-makersaboutimportant

informationrelatingtotheenvironmentaleffectsofmarine

litter.

MC

High

Meetingswithminister

ordeputyministerfor

environmentinrelation

tomarinelitter

Within3

years

Atleastonemeeting

withtheminister/

deputyministerfor

environmentperyear

VI

Developstronglinkageswithnewspaperreporters/editorsto

encouragethemtocommunicateinformationaboutthe

environmentalandhealthimpactsofmarinelitter.

MC

High

Meetingswithlocal

newspapereditorsto

discusspotential

storiesrelatingto

marinelitter

Within3

years

Atleastone

newspaperarticleon

marinelitterperyear

(permembercountry)

VIIUse‘Al-Sambouk’(PERSGAnewsletter)toregularlyshare

withmembercountriestheresultsofactionstopreventand

removelitterinthePERSGAregion.

PERSGAHigh

Publishmarinelitter

articlesin‘Al-Sambouk’Within3

years

Atleasttwoarticleson

marinelitterperyear

VIIIEncouragemembercountriestocontinuetoundertake

activitiesassociatedwithPERSGA’s‘Clean-upOurSeas’

campaign.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAorganisesa

beachclean-upactivity

ineachmember

countryperyear

Within3

years

Atleastone-PERSGA

sponsoredbeach

clean-upcampaignper

year

IXEncouragemembercountriestoparticipateininternational

campaignssuchasthe#CleanSeascampaign.

PERSGAHigh

Eachmembercountry

toparticipateinthe

#CleanSeascampaign

Within3

years

Eachmembercountry

makesatleastone

commitmentunder

#CleanSeas(e.g.

informcitizensorpass

newlaws)

27

27

VIIIEnforcetheLondonProtocolbymembercountriesthathave

ratifiedtheProtocol.

MC

High

EnforcementofLondon

Protocolbysignatory

membercountries

Within3

years

Auditresults

demonstratingProtocol

isbeingenforcedby

membercountries

IX

Facilitateaworkshoptoassistmembercountriesreview

andreporttheirobligationsunderArticle7oftheLBA

Protocol.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAconvenes

workshoponArticle7of

LBAProtocol

Within3

years

Regionalworkshop

X

Facilitateaworkshoptoassistmembercountriestoreview

existinglegislationand,ifnecessary,developnewlegislation

topreventlitterenteringthemarineenvironment.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAconvenesa

workshoponreviewing

andwritinglegislation

Within2

years

Regionalworkshop

XI

Facilitateaworkshoptoassistmembercountries

understandtheirobligationstoMARPOLandtheLondon

Protocol.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAconvenesa

workshoponMARPOL

andLondonProtocol

Within3

yeas

Regionalworkshop

XIIAdvocateformembercountriestointroducelegislationthat

bancosmeticsandsimilarproductscontainingmicrobeads.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGA,in

collaborationwith

nationalagencies,

advocatesforthe

introductionof

legislationthatbans

productscontaining

microbeads

Assoonas

realistically

possible

Membercountries

introducelegislation

thatbancosmetic

productscontaining

microbeads.

*AtthetimeofwritingthisdocumentJordanwasasignatorytotheLondonConventionbutnottheProtocol.

28

28

Component 4: Encouraging Public-Private-Partnerships Passingnewlawstobettermanagemarine litter is likely tobeaslowprocess,especiallywherethereisresistanceamongsomestakeholders.Lawswillalsobeineffective without monitoring compliance and undertaking enforcement.Further,governmentinitiativestopreventorremovemarinelitter,ontheirown,maybeinadequateifpublicfundsarelimited.Acomplementaryapproachistoencourageprivatecompaniestotakevoluntaryinitiativestoaddresstheissueofmarine litter independent of government laws and regulations. For instance,coastaltouristresortscouldbeencouragedtostopsellingsingle-useplasticwaterbottlesandinsteadprovidetheirguestswithreusablebottlesthancanbere-filledusing water dispensers. Another potential approach is to discourage localsupermarkets fromdistributingoutsingle-useplasticbags,which isoneof themostcommonitemsoflitterfoundonbeachesandontheseafloorinthePERSGAregion. There are already excellent examples in PERSGA regionwhere public-privatepartnershipsareworkingtoreducetheriskoflitterenteringthemarineenvironment.Oneexampleincludesthebanofsingle-useplasticbagsintheRedSeaGovernorate,Egypt.SuccessfulactionsinPERSGAmembercountriescouldbetermed ‘Flag-ShipDemonstrationActions’ and potentially trialled among othermember countries. Appendix 3 identifies examples where NGOs and privatecompanieshaveorareundertakingactionstomitigatemarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.TheobjectivetoachieveComponent4is:Encouragepublic-privatepartnershipstoaddressmarinelitterbyremoving,preventingand/orrecyclingmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.Thereareeightactionsproposed toachieve thisobjective.TheactionsareshowninTable6.

29

Table6:EncouragingPublic-PrivatePartnershipActions

#Action

Lead

Priority

rank

Expectedresults(ER)

Time

framesfor

ER

Performanceindicators

IEncourageprivatecompaniestotakeinitiatives,suchasa

voluntaryphase-outofsingle-usebags,waterbottlesand

strawsandotherplasticitems.

MC

Very

High

Eachmembercountry

encouragesprivate

companiesto

voluntarilyphase-out

single-useplasticbags

andotheritems

Within2

years

Atleastoneprivate

companypermember

countrythathasphased

outsingle-useplastic

bags

IIEvaluatethesuccessofsuchinitiativesbyprivate

companiesinthePERSGAregionandtodetermineif

suitableforadoptionas‘Flag-ShipDemonstrationActions’

byothermembercountries.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAcompilescase

studiesonprivate

companiesinmember

countriesthathave

voluntarilyactedto

phase-outorreducethe

useofsingle-useplastic

items

Within3

years

Areportoncasestudies

andrecommendations

IIIPropose‘Flag-ShipDemonstrationActions’inthePERSGA

regionthathavebeensuccessfulatreducingtheriskof

marinelitterenteringthemarineenvironment(e.g.phasing-

outplasticbags)orresultingintheremovaloflitterfrom

theenvironment(e.g.recyclingstrategy)

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAlistsexemplary

effortsbyprivate

companiestoreduce

plasticuseandname

these‘Flag-ship

DemonstrationActions’

Within2

years

Reportidentifyingand

justifyingchoiceof‘Flag-

ShipDemonstration

Actions’

IVMembercountriestotrialandmonitor‘Flag-Ship

DemonstrationActions’

MC

Medium‘Flag-Ship

DemonstrationActions’

trialledinmember

countries

Within4

years

Atleastone‘FlagShip

DemonstrationAction’

trialledineachmember

countries

29

29

Table6:EncouragingPublic-PrivatePartnershipActions

#Action

Lead

Priority

rank

Expectedresults(ER)

Time

framesfor

ER

Performanceindicators

IEncourageprivatecompaniestotakeinitiatives,suchasa

voluntaryphase-outofsingle-usebags,waterbottlesand

strawsandotherplasticitems.

MC

Very

High

Eachmembercountry

encouragesprivate

companiesto

voluntarilyphase-out

single-useplasticbags

andotheritems

Within2

years

Atleastoneprivate

companypermember

countrythathasphased

outsingle-useplastic

bags

IIEvaluatethesuccessofsuchinitiativesbyprivate

companiesinthePERSGAregionandtodetermineif

suitableforadoptionas‘Flag-ShipDemonstrationActions’

byothermembercountries.

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAcompilescase

studiesonprivate

companiesinmember

countriesthathave

voluntarilyactedto

phase-outorreducethe

useofsingle-useplastic

items

Within3

years

Areportoncasestudies

andrecommendations

IIIPropose‘Flag-ShipDemonstrationActions’inthePERSGA

regionthathavebeensuccessfulatreducingtheriskof

marinelitterenteringthemarineenvironment(e.g.phasing-

outplasticbags)orresultingintheremovaloflitterfrom

theenvironment(e.g.recyclingstrategy)

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAlistsexemplary

effortsbyprivate

companiestoreduce

plasticuseandname

these‘Flag-ship

DemonstrationActions’

Within2

years

Reportidentifyingand

justifyingchoiceof‘Flag-

ShipDemonstration

Actions’

IVMembercountriestotrialandmonitor‘Flag-Ship

DemonstrationActions’

MC

Medium‘Flag-Ship

DemonstrationActions’

trialledinmember

countries

Within4

years

Atleastone‘FlagShip

DemonstrationAction’

trialledineachmember

countries

30

30

VMembercountriestoinvolvearangeofstakeholders(e.g.

privateindividuals,NGOs,privatecompanies)toimplement

actionsassociatedwiththeirNAPs.

MC

Very

High

NAPsshouldincludeone

ormoreactionsthat

involveprivate

companiestoreduce

marinelitter

Linkedto

preparation

oftheNAPs

Atleastoneactionin

eachNAPtoinvolve

privatecompaniesto

reducemarinelitter

VIMembercountriestotrialnovelactionstopreventandor

removemarinelitter*.

MC

MediumMembercountriestrial

novelactionstoreduce

marinelitterinthe

region

Within4

years

Atleastone-member

countrytotrialanovel

action

VIIDevelopanawardthatPERSGAgivesoutonanannualbasis

toacompanyorNGOforoutstandingcontributiontothe

preventionortheremovalofmarinelitterinthePERSGA

region.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAdevelopsa

‘MarineLitterReduction

Award’

Within2

years

PERSGAMarineLitter

ReductionAwardgiven

toaprivatecompanyor

NGOeachyear

VIIIDeveloparegistrar(list)of‘Flag-ShipDemonstration

Actions’tobesharedwithmembercountries.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAmaintainand

distributetomember

countriesaregistrarof

‘Flag-Ship

DemonstrationActions’

Within2

years

Theregistrar

*AnovelactionisanactionthathasnotbeenpreviouslytriedinaPERSGAmembercountry.

31

31

Component 5: Removing Marine Litter TheprimaryaimofComponents2,3and4istopreventadditionallitterenteringthemarineenvironment in the first instance.However, actionsare required toremoveandthenadequatelydisposeofmarinelitterthathasalreadyaccumulatedinthemarineenvironment.Worldwide,themostcommonitemofmarinelitterisplastic.AccordingtoEunomia(2016),theweightofplasticontheseafloorisonaverage70kg/km2whileonbeachesitis2,000kg/km2.Consequently,oneofthemoststraightforwardandcost-effectiveapproachestoremoveplasticsandotherformsofmarinelitterfromtheenvironmentisbeachclean-ups.Abeachclean-upiswheremarinelitteriscollectedfromabeachandtakentoalegallydesignateddisposalsite.Abeachclean-upcanbeavolunteerorwork-relatedactivity thattake place as a one–off activity or, preferably, on a regular basis at the samelocation. Inmany locationsworldwide,peopledobeachclean-upsbut inotherlocationsspeciallydesignedvehiclesareused.Anotherpotentialapproachtoremovelitterfromtheenvironmentislitter-trapson storm water drains (Willis et al., 2017). As the name suggest, these trapscapturelitterinstormwaterdrainsbeforethelitterisdischargedintotheocean.The practical application and cost effectiveness of litter-traps in the PERSGAregionwouldneedtobeevaluated,especiallygiventhatmajorrainfalleventsareuncommon.Fencesplacedaroundopenlandfillsorgarbagedumpsnearthecoastmightactinasimilarwaytotrapwindblownlitterbeforeitenterstheocean.Littercollectedonoratthebaseoffencescouldberemoveperiodically.Removingmarine litter from the seafloor is less straightforward, but possible.ThishasbeenattemptedoffJordan(Al-NajjarandAl-Shyab,2011),butthecosteffectivenessofsuchanapproachremainstobeassessed.When litter is collected from the beach it is important that it is disposed ofeffectivelysoitcannolongerreturntothemarineenvironmentorcauseotherenvironmental damage. Options include landfills, incinerators or, preferably,recycling.Component5 issimilar toComponent6 ‘MonitoringandResearch’ in that theybothinvolvecollectinglitterfromthemarineenvironment.However,thefocusofComponent5isontheremovalanddisposaloflitterwithouttheneedforcountingandcategorisinglitter.Thisisavalidgoal,especiallyifcoastalresortmanagersormayors of coastal towns do not have scientifically trained staff to count andcategoriselitter,butsimplywanttoremoveunsightlylitterfrombeachesusedbytourists and or local people. In contrast, Component 6 includes a scientificevaluation of the type and amount of litter collected in order to help informmanagement.The objective to achieve Component 5 is: To clean-up litter from the marineenvironment.Therearesixactionsproposedtoachievethisobjective.TheactionsareshowninTable7.

32

32

Table7:RemovingLitterActions

#

Action

Lead

Priority

rank

Expectedresults(ER)

Time

framesfor

ER

Performanceindicators

I

Undertakeareviewofmethodstoremovelitterfrom

beachesandranktheirsuitabilityforadoptioninthe

PERSGAregion.Methodscouldincludemechanical

approachesandtheevaluationshouldalsoexaminecost-

effectiveness.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAcommissionsa

reviewofmethodsused

toremovelitterfrom

beachesandother

coastalhabitats

Within2

years

Reportdescribingthe

reviewand

recommendations

II

Developnationalstrategiestoencouragecoastalland-

ownersormanagers(resorts,villagecouncils,

municipalities)toincorporateintotheirworkplanstheneed

toregularlycollectandremovelitterfromtheirareasof

operation.

MC

High

Eachmembercountry

developsanational

strategytogetprivate

companiestoremove

litterintheirareasof

operation

Within3

years

NationalStrategyfrom

eachmembercountry

III

Developnationalstrategiestoensurelittertakentolandfill

orotherlocationscannoteasilyenterorre-enterthemarine

environment.

MC

Very

High

Eachmembercountry

developsanational

strategytoimprovethe

performanceoflitter

disposalapproaches

Within2

years

NationalStrategyfrom

eachmembercountry

IV

Developguidelinesforremovinglittersafely(bythe

collector)andcost-effectively(toasuitabledisposalsiteor

recyclingplant).

PERSGAHigh

PERSGAtodevelop

guidelinestohelp

companiesremovelitter

effectivelyfromcoastal

areas

Within3

years

GuidelineReport

V

Workshoptoshareideasonhowmarinelittercanbesafely

andcost-effectivelyremovedfrombeachesinthePERSGA

region.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAtoconvenea

workshoptoreview

guidelinestoeffectively

removelitter

Within2

years

Workshop

33

33

VI

Developregistrarofalllocationswherestakeholders,

includingprivatecompanies,areregularlyremovinglitter

frombeachesandotherlocationsinthePERSGAregion.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAtodevelopeda

registraroflocations

wherestakeholdersare

regularlyremovinglitter

frombeaches

Within2

years[and

ongoing]

Aregistrar

34

34

Component 6: Research and Monitoring ResearchandmonitoringprogramsareessentialtoaddressthethreatofmarinelitterinthePERSGAregion.InthisRAP,theterm‘research’referstoshort-termhypothesisdrivenexperimentsdesignedtoevaluatetheeffectivenessofspecificmanagementinterventionstopreventorremovemarinelitter.Forinstance,theuse of litter traps on stormwater drains could be experimentally assessed todeterminetheireffectiveness.Universitiesorconsultantscouldundertakesuchexperiments if fundswereavailable.Research couldalso includeobservationalstudies to quantitatively evaluate the source and composition of litter fromdifferent locations.There is limited researchon the sourceandcompositionofmarine litter in the PERSGA region (Gladstone et al., 2012). Examples ofquantitative studiesonmarine litter fromthePERSGAregion includeAl-NajjarandAl-Shiyab(2011)whoevaluatedthedensityoflitterontheseaflooroffJordan,and Marti et al. (2017) who quantified the abundance of plastic fragments insurfacewatersoffSaudiArabia.PERSGAhasalsoundertakenrapidbeachsurveystoobtainasynopticunderstandingoftheamountandcompositionofmarinelitterinmembercountries(Box3).In this RAP, the term ‘monitoring’ relates to long-term studies focusing onquantifying trends in litter accumulation or to evaluate compliance with amanagement threshold. In termsof the latter,monitoring couldbedesigned toinformiftheamountofcountedlitterexceededamanagementthreshold.Suchathreshold could include an unacceptable amount of litter on a popular touristbeachthatifexceededwouldtriggerabeachclean-upbytheresponsibleagency.PERSGAhasinstigatedaregionalsurveyprogramtoinvestigatethetypes,sourcesand extent of marine litter accumulation on beaches. It has also developed astandardisedsurveyandmonitoringmethodologyforevaluatinglitteronbeaches(PERSGA,2014).ThemethodologyismodelledonCheshireetal.(2009)inordertoensurealignmentwithmethodsusedinotherregionalseas.PERSGAhasalsobeguntoestablishbaselineonlitterabundanceandcompositionforbeachesinmostmembercountries.However,thereisaneedforaregionalsurveyprogramtoevaluateandestablishbaselinefortheamountandtypeoflitterontheseafloorinthePERSGAregion.

35

35

The objective for Component 6 is:Undertake research to determine the source,densityandcompositionofmarinelitterineachPERSGAmembercountry.Thereare15actionsproposedtoachievethisobjective.TheactionsarelistedinTable8.

Box3:PERSGASurveyandMonitoringProgramforbeachlitter.Since2012,PERSGAhasconductedrapidvisualsurveystoassesstheamountoflitteralongmainlandbeachesinvariouspartsofthePERSGAregion.ThesesurveyswereundertakenincoordinationwiththenationalFocalPointofeachmembercountryandwithassistancefromanationalteamineachcountry.In2012,PERSGAconductedrapidvisualsurveysinSudan,Jordan,DjiboutiandYemen.SimilarsurveyswereconductedinSaudiArabiain2016andinEgyptin2018.Duringthesurveys,thepercentcoveroflitteronbeacheswasestimatedforeachsite.Inaddition,littertypeswererecorded,alongwithlengthandwidthofeachsurveyedbeach.Afterconductingtherapidvisualsurveys,regionalbeach-monitoringprogramswereestablishedinDjiboutiandSudan.PERSGA,incoordinationwiththeFocalPointsofthesemembercountries,identifiedsitestobemonitored.MonitoringstartedinSudaninlate2015(Figure3)andinDjiboutiin2016.Ateachsite,litterwascollected,categorised,countedandweighed.PERSGAisplanningsimilarmonitoringintheothermembercountriesinthefuture.Figure3:Beachclean-upandmonitoringactivity,Sudan.

36

36

Table8:ResearchandMonitoringActions

#Ac

tion

Lead

Pr

iori

ty

rank

Ex

pect

edre

sults

(ER)

Ti

me

fram

esfo

rER

Perf

orm

ance

indi

cato

rs

IPr

omot

ePE

RSGA

’sre

gion

alsu

rvey

pro

gram

toin

vest

igat

eth

eex

tent

ofm

arin

elit

tera

ccum

ulat

ion

onb

each

esin

all

mem

berc

ount

ries

.

PERS

GA

Very

H

igh

PERS

GAto

pro

mot

eits

re

gion

alli

tter

surv

ey

prog

ram

With

in2

ye

ars

Anin

crea

sein

the

#of

lo

catio

nssu

rvey

ed

IIEx

pand

the

regi

onal

surv

eyp

rogr

amto

inve

stig

ate

the

type

s,so

urce

sand

ext

ento

fmar

ine

litte

racc

umul

atio

non

the

seaf

loor

and

,ifp

ract

ical

,in

the

wat

erco

lum

nfo

rall

mem

ber

coun

trie

s.Th

isw

illco

mpl

emen

tthe

pro

gram

alr

eady

in

plac

eto

add

ress

litte

ron

beac

hes.

PERS

GA

Hig

hPE

RSGA

exp

ands

it

regi

onal

surv

eyp

rogr

am

toin

vest

igat

elit

tero

nth

ese

aflo

or,i

nth

ew

ater

colu

mn

and

inla

ndju

stb

eyon

dth

ebe

ach

With

in3

ye

ars

Litte

rsur

veys

oft

he

seaf

loor

and

inth

ew

ater

colu

mn

from

at

leas

ttw

olo

catio

nsp

er

mem

berc

ount

ry

III

Deve

lop

aco

mpr

ehen

sive

man

ualo

nst

anda

rdis

edp

roto

cols

to

eva

luat

em

arin

elitt

erin

the

follo

win

gen

viro

nmen

ts:

seaf

loor

(sha

llow

and

dee

pw

ater

);se

asu

rfac

e;in

the

wat

er

colu

mn;

on

beac

hesa

nda

reas

imm

edia

tely

bey

ond

beac

hes.

PERS

GA

Hig

hPE

RSGA

dev

elop

sa

com

preh

ensi

vem

anua

lof

surv

eyp

roto

cols

for

litte

ron

beac

hes,

seaf

loor

,wat

erco

lum

nan

dar

easi

nlan

dof

the

beac

h.

With

in3

ye

ars

Appr

oved

man

ual

IV

Orga

nise

regi

onal

wor

ksho

pso

nst

anda

rdis

edp

roto

cols

to

eval

uate

mar

ine

litte

rasp

erp

revi

ousa

ctio

n.

PERS

GA

Hig

hPE

RSGA

conv

enes

w

orks

hop(

s)to

dis

cuss

pr

otoc

olsa

sper

pr

evio

usa

ctio

n

With

in3

ye

ars[

or

linke

dto

th

etim

ing

ofth

em

anua

l]

Wor

ksho

pon

st

anda

rdis

edp

roto

cols

37

37

VM

apm

arin

elit

terh

otsp

ots/

regi

onal

acc

umul

atio

nzo

nes

(bot

hab

ove

and

sub-

surf

ace)

inth

ePE

RSGA

regi

onth

atca

nbe

targ

eted

forf

utur

ere

sear

cha

ndo

rman

agem

ent.

PERS

GA

Hig

hPE

RSGA

GIS

uni

tcre

ates

an

dre

gula

rly

upda

tes

GIS

laye

rssh

owin

glit

ter

hots

pots

.

With

in3

ye

ars[

and

on-g

oing

]

GIS

litt

erh

otsp

otla

yers

VI

Expa

ndth

enu

mbe

rofb

each

esin

the

PERS

GAre

gion

whe

re

mar

ine

litte

rbas

elin

eha

sbee

nes

tabl

ishe

d.

MC

Hig

hM

embe

rcou

ntri

es

unde

rtak

eba

selin

ebe

ach

surv

eyse

ach

year

With

in3

ye

ars

Atle

asto

nen

ew

base

line

site

per

m

embe

rcou

ntry

per

ye

ar

VII

Regu

larly

(1-2

yea

rs)r

e-su

rvey

bea

ches

that

hav

eba

selin

eda

ta.

MC

Hig

hM

embe

rcou

ntri

esre

-su

rvey

bas

elin

esi

tes

With

in3

ye

ars

Base

line

site

ssur

veye

dat

leas

tonc

eev

ery

two

year

sVI

IIEs

tabl

ish

ada

taba

sere

cord

ing

long

-term

tren

dsin

litt

er

abun

danc

ean

dty

pea

tbea

ches

ina

llm

embe

rcou

ntri

es.

PERS

GA

Hig

hPE

RSGA

dev

elop

da

taba

sefo

rlitt

er

surv

eyd

ata

and

to

com

mun

icat

ere

sults

to

mem

berc

ount

ries

With

in3

ye

ars

Base

line

data

base

. Gr

aphs

show

ing

litte

rab

unda

nce

tren

ds

[upd

ated

follo

win

gsu

rvey

s]

IX

Enco

urag

ean

dsu

ppor

tloc

alm

arin

ein

stitu

tesa

nd

univ

ersi

tiest

oun

dert

ake

rese

arch

tod

eter

min

eth

edi

rect

an

din

dire

cte

colo

gica

lim

pact

sofm

arin

elit

tero

fmar

ine

orga

nism

sand

hab

itats

inth

ePE

RSGA

regi

on.

MC

Very

H

igh

Each

mem

berc

ount

ry

enga

gesw

itha

loca

lun

iver

sity

tou

nder

take

re

sear

chp

roje

ctso

nth

edi

rect

ori

ndir

ecti

mpa

ct

ofm

arin

elit

ter

With

in2

ye

ars

Atle

asto

neu

nive

rsity

st

udy

onth

eim

pact

of

mar

ine

litte

rper

co

untr

y

XEn

cour

age

and

supp

ortl

ocal

mar

ine

inst

itute

sand

un

iver

sitie

sto

unde

rtak

ere

sear

chto

det

erm

ine

the

soci

al

and

econ

omic

impa

ctso

fmar

ine

litte

rin

the

PERS

GAre

gion

.

MC

Very

H

igh

Asa

bove

–b

utre

latin

gto

soci

ala

nde

cono

mic

im

pact

s

With

in2

ye

ars

Asa

bove

–b

utre

latin

gto

soci

ala

nde

cono

mic

im

pact

sXI

En

cour

age

and

supp

ortl

ocal

mar

ine

inst

itute

sand

un

iver

sitie

sto

cond

uctr

esea

rch

onp

rote

ctiv

ean

dre

gula

tory

mea

sure

sfor

pro

tect

ing

the

coas

tala

ndm

arin

een

viro

nmen

tsfr

omli

tter

ari

sing

from

urb

ano

rrur

ala

reas

.

MC

Med

ium

Ea

chm

embe

rcou

ntry

en

gage

swith

alo

cal

univ

ersi

tyto

und

erta

ke

rese

arch

pro

ject

sto

redu

celi

tter

impa

cts

With

in4

ye

ars

Atle

asto

neu

nive

rsity

st

udy

onm

easu

rest

ore

duce

litt

erin

each

m

embe

rcou

ntry

38

38

XII

Reco

rda

ndd

isse

min

ate

(to

mem

berc

ount

ries

)evi

denc

eof

hu

man

hea

lthb

eing

com

prom

ised

by

mar

ine

litte

r.PE

RSGA

Very

H

igh

PERS

GAto

reco

rda

nd

diss

emin

ate

evid

ence

of

hum

anh

ealth

bei

ng

com

prom

ised

by

mar

ine

litte

r

With

in2

ye

ars

Data

base

ofl

ocat

ions

w

here

litt

eris

orm

aybe

co

mpr

omis

ing

hum

an

heal

th

Emai

lcom

mun

icat

ions

to

mem

berc

ount

ries

for

each

inci

dent

XI

IIRe

cord

and

dis

sem

inat

e(t

om

embe

rcou

ntri

es)e

vide

nce

of

econ

omic

impa

ctsf

rom

mar

ine

litte

rin

the

PERS

GAre

gion

.PE

RSGA

Ve

ry

Hig

hAs

abo

ve–

but

rela

ting

toe

cono

mic

impa

cts

With

in2

ye

ars

Asa

bove

–b

utre

latin

gto

eco

nom

icim

pact

sXI

VAn

alys

eco

st/b

enef

itso

fall

form

sofl

itter

recy

clin

gin

m

embe

rcou

ntri

es.

PERS

GA

Very

H

igh

PERS

GAto

inst

igat

est

udy

that

exa

min

esth

eco

st-b

enef

itfo

rre

cycl

ing

inm

embe

rco

untr

ies

With

in2

ye

ars

Appr

oved

fina

lrep

orto

fst

udy

XV

Wor

kw

ithU

NEn

viro

nmen

toro

ther

inte

rnat

iona

lpar

tner

to

inte

grat

eSD

GIn

dica

tor1

4.1.

1in

toa

nex

istin

gor

futu

re

mon

itori

ngp

rogr

am.

PERS

GA

Hig

hPE

RSGA

tow

ork

with

UN

env

iron

men

tto

inte

grat

eSD

G14

into

th

ere

gion

’sre

sear

ch

and

mon

itorin

gac

tiviti

es

With

in3

ye

ars

Floa

ting

plas

ticd

ebris

(d

ensi

ty)i

nclu

ded

as

indi

cato

rin

man

ualo

fst

anda

rdis

edm

anua

l

39

39

Component 7: Capacity Building and Training Staff innational agencies responsible for implementingNAPsmay requirenewskills and knowledge to accomplish some actions. PERSGA could facilitate thisthroughtrainingmaterialandprograms,workshopsconvenedbysubjectmatterexperts,on-linecoursesanddevelopingguidelines.Coursescouldcoversubjectsrangingfromraisingawarenessaboutmicroplasticstoexplainingadvancedlittermonitoringtechniques.WorkshopscouldbeconvenedtoassistmembercountriesunderstandtheirobligationsinrelationtoMARPOL,theLondonConventionandProtocol.Forinstance,anexpertininternationalmaritimelawcouldbehiredtohelpmembercountriesworktowardsfulfillingMARPOL’sRedSeaSpecialArearequirements.Aworkshopcouldalsobeconvenedtohelpmembercountriesdrafteffective legislation tomanagemarine litterand toprepare regulations tohelpenforcethelegislation.Standardisedguidelinescouldbepreparedforarangeofactivitiessuchasmonitoringlitterontheseafloor.CapacitybuildingandtrainingneedswillbebetterknownfollowingthedraftingofNAPsbymembercountries.Trainingmodulesproducedbyexternalsources,suchasUNEnvironment,canalsobereviewedandutilisedwhereappropriate.Choiceoftrainingshouldbestrategicratherthanad-hoc.Forthisreason,akeypriorityactionisformembercountries,incollaborationwithPERSGA,tolisttrainingneedsbasedontheneedsoftheirNAPs.TheobjectiveforComponent7is:Identifycapacitylimitationsandtrainingneededtoimplementactions.Therearethreeactionsproposedtoachievethisobjective.TheactionsarelistedinTable9.

40

40

Table9:CapacityBuildingandTrainingActions

Action

Lead

Priority

rank

Expectedresults(ER)

Time

framesfor

ER

Performanceindicators

I

Eachmembercountrypreparesalistofprioritytrainingand

capacitybuildingneedstoassistthemtoimplementtheir

NAPs.

MC

Very

High

Membercountries

providealistoftraining

andcapacitybuilding

needstoachievetheir

NAPs

Tobe

determined

(linkedto

completion

ofNAP)

Listoftrainingneeds

fromeachmember

country

II

Developandprovideregionaltrainingcoursesonmarine

litterformembercountriesthatwillhelpthemimplement

theirNAPs.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAdevelopsa

regionaltraining

programtomeetthe

trainingneedsof

membercountries

[linkedtoprevious

action]

Linkedto

previous

action

Approvedtraining

programcommensurate

withtheneedsof

membercountries

III

Reviewmarinelittertrainingcoursesworldwidefor

potentialuseinthePERSGAregion.

PERSGAVery

High

PERSGAreviewand

select,where

appropriate,onlinelitter

trainingcoursestohelp

membercountries

achieveactionsintheir

NAPs.

Within2

years

Reviewtrainingcourses

suitableforthePERSGA

region

41

41

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Appendices

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Appendix 1: Questionnaire template Questionnairesent28January2018toFocalPointsineachmembercountry.

Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Red SeaandGulfofAden

Questionnaireforpreparationof:RegionalActionPlanfortheSustainableManagementofMarineLitterintheRedSeaandGulfofAden1.Country:2.Organization/Authority:3.Yourname,title(Mr,Dr..etc)androle:4.Whatisthemainauthorityordepartmentresponsibleforthepreventionandremovalofmarinelitterinyourcountry?Bothfromlandandboats?5.Whatisthemainlawsordecreestopreventandremovemarinelitterinyourcountry?6. Is there a national action plan (a document that describes objectives andactionstomanagemarinelitterorsolidwaste)inyourcountry?Ifyes,canwehaveacopyofit?7. Are there nationalactions in you country toprevent (or stop) litter fromentering themarine environment (e.g. actions such asmarine litter awarenessbrochuresforschools)?Ifso,pleaseprovidespecificdetails(who,when,whereandhow?):

8.Aretherenationalactions inyourcountrytoremove litterfromthemarineenvironment(e.g.annualbeachlitterclean-upsattourismbeaches)Ifso,pleaseprovidespecificdetails:

9. Have any private companies (e.g. shopping centres) or municipalities(provincesorgovernoratesorcitycouncils) inyourcountrybanned theuseofplasticitemssuchasbagsandstraws?Ifso,whoaretheyandwhatdidtheydo? 10. Is there a non-government organisation (NGO) in your country that isworkingwithgovernmentorprivatecompaniestopreventandremovemarinelitter?Ifso,pleasedescribe. 11.Isthereanyproposaltobantheuseofsomeplasticitems(e.g.bags,bottles,straws,wrappingetc.)inyourcountry(orinpartsofthecountry)?11a.Ifso,bywhom:

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12.Describethe twotopfactorsthatlimittheability tomanagemarinelitterinyour country (e.g. no effectivemanagement of household rubbish collecting incities; lackof enforcementof laws; lackof knowledge to implement strategies;limitedresourcestoundertakeactions;etc.):13.Whatdoyoubelievetobethethreetopprioritiesforpreventingmarinelitterenteringthemarineenvironmentinyourcountry?[pleaseprovidespecificdetails]

14.Whatarethethreetopprioritiesforremovingmarinelitterinyourcountry?

15. Please list three or more activities that you believe PERSGA could do tosupport your country deal withmarine litter. For instance, this could includeprovidingtraininginmarinelittersurveytechniquesordevelopenvironmentalawarenessmaterialthatcouldbesharedamongmembercountries.Applicant’sNameMobileNo.E-mailAddress:Thankyouverymuchforyourcooperation.

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Appendix 2: Beach litter awareness and educational resources LitterawarenessmaterialontheworldwidewebcouldpotentiallybeadaptedforusebyPERSGAmembercountries.Examplesareshownbelow.Copywriteissuesshouldbechecked.MarinelitterNetworkhttp://marinelitternetwork.com/resources/reports/#CleanSeashttp://www.cleanseas.org/MarineDebrisProgramNOAAhttps://marinedebris.noaa.gov/activities-and-curriculaTangaroaBluehttp://www.tangaroablue.org/resources/education-kit.htmlDUMLCommunitySciencehttps://sites.duke.edu/communityscience/marine-debris/marine-debris-classroom-resources/AustralianMarineConservationSocietyhttps://www.marineconservation.org.au/pages/plastic-pollution-how-you-can-help-take-action-now.htmlPinteresthttps://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/332281278728202995/

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Appendix 3: Tackling marine litter in the PERSGA region InitiativesbyNGOsandprivatecompaniestopreventandremovemarinelitterinthe PERSGA region have already started. Some of these are described at thefollowingwebsites.Banningofsingle-useplasticbagsintheRedSeaGovernorate,Egypthttp://www.egyptindependent.com/red-sea-governorate-bans-plastic-bags/Recyclingofplasticsandotherlitter–initiativebyanNGOintheRedSeahttp://www.hepca.org/media/news/2009/12/recycling-red-sea-hepca-solid-waste-management/103Removingmarinelitterfromtheseafloor–Jordanhttp://jreds.org/default.aspx?page=affiliation&t=exhibitionplasticInternationalCoastalCleanUp–SaudiArabiahttp://act.oceanconservancy.org/site/DocServer/ICC_2006_Report_Saudi_Arabia.pdf?docID=3325