The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation as the use of single-use plastics such as gloves and masks has increased, threatening to stall and even reverse the progress achieved, as single plastic accounts for up to 50% of beach litter.
The new project “Plastic Busters CAP: Fostering knowledge transfer to tackle marine litter in the Mediterranean by integrating EbA into ICZM” will kick off online on 26 January. The project was born under the umbrella of the UfM “Plastic Busters Initiative” and SDSN MED (Sustainable Development Solutions Network Mediterranean) leaded by the University of Siena (Italy).
The kick-off meeting will see the participation of keynote speakers, among them, Joumana Sweiss, from the branch office for the Western Mediterranean ENI CBC MED Programme; Laura Righi from the ENI CBC Med Joint Technical Secretariat, Alessandra Sensi from the Union for Mediterranean, Francesco Frati Rector of the University of Siena.
The main expected results of the project are: the development of hands-on training activities on marine litter monitoring and assessment and mitigation measures, organisation of e-course on marine litter monitoring, marine litter monitoring and assessment in 4 pilot campaigns, creation of a coastal cities network for a litter-free Mediterranean.
The project will be implemented in Greece, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Spain, and Tunisia over the next 2 years with a budget of over €1 Million. It is co-funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Med programme.
*PRESS CONFERENCE* (January 26th at 16h, open to the public)
The conference will be in English.
- Maria Cristina Fossi – Professor at the University of Siena and Plastic Busters Director
- Francesco Frati – Rector of the University of Sienna
- Thomais Vlachogianni – Programme/Policy Officer at the Mediterranean Information Office for the Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE/ Greece)
- Sana Ben Ismail – National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies, Tunisian partner of the project.
All the project’s partners will be present.
Registration: silvia.casini@unisi.it This e-mail MUST include the following information: Full name, Media organisation and position, Email address and mobile phone number.
**The event will take place online on January 26 from 09h30 to 17h00 (UTC+1)** (By invitation only)