It is the last year of the COMMON project, but its actions and progress will certainly have continuity, thanks to new projects born under the umbrella of ENI CBC Med Programme, which share the same aims and objectives. As we know, marine litter is globally acknowledged as a major societal challenge of our times due to its significant environmental, economic, social, political, and cultural implications and the Mediterranean is one of the most affected seas by marine litter worldwide and it is clear that prevention and mitigation measures are urgently needed.

Today, a new project entitled “Plastic Busters CAP: Fostering knowledge transfer to tackle marine litter in the Mediterranean by integrating EbA into ICZM” officially starts. Plastic Busters CAP aims to facilitate decision-makers and stakeholders in effectively tackling the problem of marine litter by integrating the Ecosystem-Based Management Approach into the Integrated Coastal Zone Management planning towards good environmental status. The project was born under the umbrella of the Union for Mediterranean “Plastic Busters Initiative” and SDSN MED (Sustainable Development Solutions Network Mediterranean) leaded by the University of Siena (Italy).

The project seeks to consolidate and fully exploit the knowledge obtained by relevant projects, included COMMON project, to develop tailored-made capitalization actions that will create the enabling conditions for a societal shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns, and a truly circular and green economy. In the long-term, the project will contribute to enhancing ecosystem services via a reduced leakage of marine litter and marine plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases by a wise-use and sustainable disposal of plastics.

Plastic Busters CAP brings together partners from 7 countries of the Mediterranean region: Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia.

The kick-off meeting sees 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.

Find out more at Plastic Busters CAP official webpage: https://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/plastic-busters-cap