May 12, 2020

National Marine Week 2018 : Litter knows no waste!

The National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) wishes to invite all stakeholders including public and private entities, the non-profitable organisations (NPOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local, provincial and national departments to join the DEA in celebrating the annual National Marine Week for 2018 (#NMW2018) during the 8-12 October 2018. The theme for the #NMW2018 is “Nature knows no waste!”

The main objective of the #NMW2018 is to create awareness about the scourge of marine pollution, particularly plastics and micro-plastics, in the ocean and coastal ecosystems. The DEA is a signatory and participant in global, regional and local programmes such as Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Environment from Land-based Activities (UNEP GPA), Nairobi Convention’s Western Indian Ocean Strategic Action Programme (WIO-SAP) as well as the UN’s Clean Seas Campaign on land-based sources of marine pollution. These programmes have recognised land-based litter as one of the key sources of pollution in the ocean and coastal environment, and seek to find collective means and ways to engage the governments, general public, civil society and the private sector to find solutions to address the plastic litter challenges and problems in the marine environment.

In response to the above commitments and marine litter problem in South Africa, a source to sea initiative, aimed at preventing waste from land-based sources into the marine environment, will be launched at the #NMW2018. A national rollout of this initiative is imminent and will receive widespread coverage over the coming months. The main objective of the source to sea initiative and the #NMW2018 campaign is to impart the message that “Llitter-free land for litter-free oceans.” A reduction in the production and consumption of non-recoverable and single-use plastic products is encouraged together with a “recover, reduce, re-use and re-cycle” message and approach at a citizen’s individual-level.

To this end, the DEA encourages that all stakeholders in the public and private sectors to engage in relevant activities, and spread the #NMW2018 message under the theme “Nature knows no Waste!” by encouraging the “recover, reduce, re-use and recycle” message to all stakeholders involved.

About the author

Issued by Issued by Carmen Visser - South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR)

Contact:
SAIMI Operations Director: Soraya Artman – soraya@saimi.co.za

More Articles

September 19, 2024

WATCH: Business Spotlight | South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI)

While Women’s Month has come to an end, the conversation around women's leadership in the maritime sector continues. In an insightful interview with Business Day TV, Nwabisa Matoti, Acting Research Director at SAIMI, highlights the strides made in advancing women in maritime careers as she was interviewed by Business Day TV. The sector is seeing a shift towards greater gender diversity and inclusion, with women playing a crucial role in shaping the future of the oceans economy. Watch the interview on the link below.