Following the increase of plastic pollution worldwide and the concerns around it, in March 2022, the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) adopted resolution 5/14 to end plastic pollution, with the ambitious goal of negotiating a Treaty by the end of 2024.
Communities around the world are impacted daily by plastic pollution in terms of health and livelihoods, damage to sensitive ecosystems and broad socio-economic implications. The development of a Treaty to tackle plastic pollution offers a unique opportunity to protect the environment, humans and biodiversity from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.
What does Fauna & Flora want the Treaty to include?
Pollution is a transboundary issue that requires global measures, we need a strong and ambitious Treaty that works for people and the planet. Here are four important aspects that we are looking at very closely.
Seahorse in plastic. © Morokot Long / Fauna & Flora
Biodiversity
Plastic pollution is a known driver of biodiversity loss which further exacerbates the effects of the triple planetary crisis. The text of the Treaty must consider and avert both the physical and chemical impact of plastic pollution of all scales – macro and microplastic – for biodiversity.
NGO protest outside UNESCO, Paris. © Catrin Norris / Fauna & Flora
Empowering local knowledge holders
The Treaty must enable equitable and nationally appropriate solutions, prioritising the world’s most vulnerable communities. While a global problem, territories in the Global South are disproportionately affected by plastic pollution, we want to make sure that local voices are driving both the development and implementation of an ambitious, effective and locally appropriate Treaty.
Nurdles on a Norfolk beach. © Edward Marshall / Fauna & Flora
Microplastic pollution
This is a pervasive, persistent form of pollution that severely jeopardises the health of people and planet. Solutions to microplastic pollution must be holistic; focused on conditions at source, integrated and applied across the whole life cycle of plastic and plastic products. Microplastics should be addressed by all control measures and reflected in each part of the treaty.
Seahorse in plastic. © Morokot Long / Fauna & Flora
Biodiversity
Plastic pollution is a known driver of biodiversity loss which further exacerbates the effects of the triple planetary crisis. The text of the Treaty must consider and avert both the physical and chemical impact of plastic pollution of all scales – macro and microplastic – for biodiversity.
NGO protest outside UNESCO, Paris. © Catrin Norris / Fauna & Flora
Empowering local knowledge holders
The Treaty must enable equitable and nationally appropriate solutions, prioritising the world’s most vulnerable communities. While a global problem, territories in the Global South are disproportionately affected by plastic pollution, we want to make sure that local voices are driving both the development and implementation of an ambitious, effective and locally appropriate Treaty.
Nurdles on a Norfolk beach. © Edward Marshall / Fauna & Flora
Microplastic pollution
This is a pervasive, persistent form of pollution that severely jeopardises the health of people and planet. Solutions to microplastic pollution must be holistic; focused on conditions at source, integrated and applied across the whole life cycle of plastic and plastic products. Microplastics should be addressed by all control measures and reflected in each part of the treaty.
Beware of false solutions
As every nation grapples with the scale and challenges associated with ending plastic pollution, solutions must be evidence-based and developed transparently to avoid the introduction of unintended consequences. Solutions must be focused on the source, practicable and tailored to different geographical contexts.
International Coastal Clean Up Day 2018, Koh Rong, Cambodia.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to craft an effective Treaty?
Via the development of technical documents, participation at the negotiation meetings and collaborations with like-minded NGOs and others, Fauna & Flora is working to amplify the voices of local communities implementing practicable solutions to plastic pollution for the benefit of biodiversity and ensuring that the language of the Treaty adequately accounts for biodiversity protection.
Using Fauna & Flora’s international network and our thought leadership, we work with communities around the world and provide them with tools to influence their country delegates. Communities in many places have developed pragmatic, locally appropriate and impactful solutions to the challenges that they are faced with. These solutions have the necessary local support to foster positive, long-term behaviour change and we want to ensure that they are considered during the negotiations.
The Fauna & Flora delegation at INC-2, UNESCO Paris, 2023
The Fauna & Flora delegation at INC-2, UNESCO Paris, 2023.
Resources
Community lessons – practicable, locally-led solutions
It is vital that the Treaty is driven by and representative of the needs of local actors, which is why Fauna & Flora and ZSL have worked with regional teams and partners to produce a series of case studies to demonstrate how communities around the world are responding to plastic pollution. These case studies outline the impacts plastic pollution has on communities, and, most importantly highlight locally appropriate solutions developed to tackle this issue and what these communities want the Treaty to address.
Case studies
Bahari Moja explain the challenge of plastic pollution in Kenya.
Bahari Moja marine litter management initiative cleaning up Kenya's coastline. © Bahari Moja
Community project improving marine litter management on remote Kenyan coastlines
Majel Kong, Research Specialist, Fauna & Flora, Cambodia. © Manita Hem / Fauna & Flora
Addressing single-use plastic pollution in Marine Protected Islands in Cambodia: A pilot project
Plastic nurdles collected in a crab shell. © Julie Davies
Plastic pellet pollution: A preventable source of microplastic pollution affecting communities, land and sea
Bahari Moja marine litter management initiative cleaning up Kenya's coastline. © Bahari Moja
Community project improving marine litter management on remote Kenyan coastlines
Majel Kong, Research Specialist, Fauna & Flora, Cambodia. © Manita Hem / Fauna & Flora
Addressing single-use plastic pollution in Marine Protected Islands in Cambodia: A pilot project
Plastic nurdles collected in a crab shell. © Julie Davies
Plastic pellet pollution: A preventable source of microplastic pollution affecting communities, land and sea
Hammerhead shark caught in fishing net. © Toby Matthews / Ocean Image Bank
Social enterprise to recycle waste fishing nets in the Philippines
A hawksbill turtle. © Gregory Piper / Ocean Image Bank
Plastic impacts on turtle nesting beaches, Chagos Archipelago
Plastic pollution on beach. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Reducing the impacts of plastic pollution on wildlife and people in St Helena
Hammerhead shark caught in fishing net. © Toby Matthews / Ocean Image Bank
Social enterprise to recycle waste fishing nets in the Philippines
A hawksbill turtle. © Gregory Piper / Ocean Image Bank
Plastic impacts on turtle nesting beaches, Chagos Archipelago
Plastic pollution on beach. © Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
Reducing the impacts of plastic pollution on wildlife and people in St Helena
Recycling plastics. © Fundação Príncipe
Príncipe - An island wide effort to tackle plastic pollution
Recycling plastics. © Fundação Príncipe
Príncipe - An island wide effort to tackle plastic pollution
Briefings
Submissions
Page
Tackling marine plastic pollution
Microplastic particles are impossible to recover once they've entered the ocean. Fauna & Flora are working to reduce microplastic pollution from the source.
Publication
The Fibre Loss Risk Assessment (FLoRA)
Addressing microplastic fibre loss in the textile industry.