Block 4. Awareness, Conservation and Citizen Science
The session included a participatory action and a subsequent plenary session:
- Plenary Session: it was held in the auditorium of the Aquarium of Seville. The results obtained in the field activity were shown and compared graphically. This was followed by the presentation of projects related to this block, which were divided into actions aimed at civil society and actions related to the fishing sector.
Chairperson
- Estíbaliz López Samaniego- AEBAM Coordination Group Member of MARLICE.
Opening Speech
• Marta Martínez-Gil General Subdirectorate for the Protection of the Sea. Ministry for Ecological Transition - “Citizen Science and its integration in the Monitoring programmes in Marine Strategies”.
• Silvia Revenga - General Secretariat Protection of Fishery Resources. General Fisheries Secretariat, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - "Marine reserves for Small-Scale Fisheries network: actions to fight marine litter".
Key Project Presentations. Citizen science and collaborative projects in the management of natural spaces.
- César Aliaga - ITENE - Packaging, Transport and Logistics Research Centre – “PlastiCircle. Improving plastics management through innovative collection, transport, sorting and recycling. Tools to involve citizens in the circular economy of plastics”.
- Sara Güemes - Ecoembes and Miguel Muñoz - SEO/Bird Life - “LIBERA Project, an example of citizen participation in nature”.
- Arabelle Bentley - KIMO International - “Societal solutions to marine litter: Fishing for Litter and the Green Deal approach”
- Marinha Guizán and Rubén Rodríguez- Vertidos Cero Association- "CIRCULAR SEAS”: Fishermen face the challenge of marine litter"
- Irene Diez – Ecoalf Foundation- “Upcycling the Oceans”
PLENARY SESSION
OPENING SPEECH
Marta referred to the importance of citizen participation in marine litter monitoring programmes. She talked about the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which establishes 11 qualitative descriptors to determine the good environmental status of the marine environment; she placed special emphasis on descriptor 10 on marine litter.
On the 2nd of November, 2018, the Council of Ministers approved the first cycle of marine strategies, which is reviewed every 6 years with the aim of guaranteeing a continuous assessment of the environmental status of the marine environment, and to determine whether the proposed environmental objectives are being reached, as well as to analyze the effectiveness of the programme of measures in achieving the good environmental status of the marine environment.
She also spoke about the characteristics of marine litter, classifying it according to its location or origin: marine debris on the coastline, in the water column and microplastics in sediments, on the water surface or beaches. She mentioned the BM-7 monitoring programme related to citizen science and the activities that are carried out, such as beach cleaning with volunteers, where marine litter is characterized. Concerning this, a Field Card has been developed for data collection following a single harmonized protocol. This card is in the MARNOBA App for marine litter on beaches.
At the end of the speech, she presented the video produced by MITECO to promote the Citizen's decalogue against marine litter and explained the objectives and contents of this initiative undertaken within the framework of CONAMA's Marine Litter Working Group.
• Silvia Revenga - General Secretariat Protection of Fishery Resources. General Fisheries Secretariat, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - "Marine reserves for Small-Scale Fisheries network: actions to fight marine litter".
Silvia talked about the distribution of the Spanish Network of Marine Reserves and the total area that they cover, as well as the main objectives of these reserves, such as: improving fishing resources, encouraging small-scale fishing (artisanal fishing) (SSF) and protecting essential fishing habitats, etc. She also mentioned the work of these reserves in public awareness and sensitization activities, as they act as an observation window to show the impacts that litter has on the marine environment, its role in the conservation of archaeological heritage, etc.
She explained the work of the Marine Reserve Network in the removal and monitoring, by coastguards and diving centres, of abandoned fishing gears, avoiding possible ghost fishing. She also commented that they have a photographic database of observed data called BIRM.
She talked about the Citizen's decalogue against marine litter, which is a didactic manual of good practices as well as its awareness-raising campaigns in schools and field activities, in which coastal marine clean-ups are included. Within this framework, she spoke of the participation of the General Secretariat of Fisheries in two projects, ACT4LITTER and Circular Seas.
Key Project Presentations. Citizen science and collaborative projects in the management of natural spaces
César introduced the huge amount of plastic waste produced annually and the economic and environmental impacts that this entails. Also, he mentioned the small percentage of this waste that is recycled.
He presented the PlastiCircle project, which is implementing innovation actions in waste collection, transportation, classification and recycling, seeking as a final step the recovery of plastic waste through the generation of new products.
As a first step in innovation, “Smart containers” has been designed in order to increase the collection rates of plastic waste. It also improves the transport cost, including sensors that indicate the amount of waste collected in each container, allowing collection routes to be more efficient. Furthermore, the collecting vehicles include a waste compactor, which maximizes the amount of waste transported per route
As an innovation for the citizen, the containers have a device that allows the identification of each person and their recycling bag with a code. When the waste that contains the bags is classified and evaluated, a score is generated for the recycling that each user has carried out. This score allows the citizen to obtain bonuses such as electric scooters, backpacks or tickets for the subway. This pilot project is being developed in several provinces of Spain, such as Valencia.
Learn more about the project: http://plasticircle.eu/
- Sara Güemes - Ecoembes and Miguel Muñoz - SEO/Bird Life - “LIBERA Project, an example of citizen participation in nature”.
Sara and Miguel presented the Libera Project, a Seo / Bird Life project in partnership with Ecoembes, which aims to eliminate waste from natural environments. It is developed through 3 main axes: knowledge, prevention and participation. Several alliances have been created with different entities throughout the Spanish territory in order to achieve the objectives of the project.
The knowledge objective is based on the collection of data in the field and is developed through two main blocks: science and citizen science. The data obtained from both branches makes it possible to improve the knowledge of the location, quantity, composition, origin and accumulation areas of “basuraleza”, the litter that is found in nature areas.
Libera Ciencia works together with NGOs and research centres to develop innovative tools that provide knowledge about the different terrestrial, marine and fluvial ecosystems. A collaboration has been established with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), which is collaborating with the identification and quantification of the presence of contaminants and litter in Important Bird Areas (IBA). 140 IBAs representing the main habitats present in Spain have been selected: wetland, agricultural, Atlantic forest, Mediterranean forest, riparian forest, coastal and mountain. The sampling is currently being developed.
Regarding citizen science activities, they are linked to the objectives of participation, knowledge and prevention through awareness. Different actions are carried out, highlighting “1m2 for nature”, an initiative in which volunteers from all over the country are mobilized in different environments (beaches, mountains, rivers, etc.). They also characterize the garbage found through the App eLitter. These data serve both for science and for awareness and sensitization of the population.
Learn more about the project: https://proyectolibera.org/
- Arabelle Bentley - KIMO International: “Societal solutions to marine litter: Fishing for Litter and the Green Deal approach”
Arabelle spoke about Fishing for Litter and the Green Deal approach. The objectives of the KIMO project are to reduce the amount of marine litter in the oceans by removing it, to increase the awareness of fishermen and the fishing sector, to monitor fishing, as well as the promotion and recycling of waste. The project wants the fishermen, while fishing, to separate their catches and keep on board the garbage collected from the sea and store it in bags that are then deposited in the appropriate points in the ports, for its subsequent classification and recycling. This project does not imply any cost for the fishermen and represents an awareness activity for the fishing sector while reducing the amount of marine litter.
She mentioned that, on developing the project, she faced several problems, such as limited space on fishing boats, lack of facilities in ports and limited resources.
The project developed by KIMO has motivated the rest of the marine garbage collection initiatives of the fishing sector. She highlighted the exponential growth of participation in this sector from the beginning of the project in 2014 to 2017.
She also mentioned the centralization of all the information of the projects focused on the reduction of marine debris in the Fishing for Litter Hub platform.
She ended her speech talking about the Focus of the Green Agreement, in which the environmental policy involves those responsible for environmental pressure and those who can help prevent or solve the problem. This Green Agreement connects all activities in order to carry out beach clean-ups, recycling or reuse of materials.
Learn more about the project: http://www.kimointernational.org/dk/news/green-deal-fisheries-an-extra-dimension-to-the-fishing-for-litter-project/
- Marinha Guizán and Rubén Rodriguez - Asociación Vertidos Cero project coordinators-"CIRCULAR SEAS”: Fishermen face the challenge of marine litter".
Rubén presented the Circular Seas project, which focuses on three areas of action: cleaning and awareness actions in marine reserves, garbage collection campaigns on beaches and aquatic environments and garbage collection campaigns supported by fishing boats. The project, co-financed by The Coca-Cola Foundation, is developed through three partners: Asociación Vertidos Cero, Asociación Chelonia and Ecomar Foundation. The project has already involved more than 170 public and private organizations.
Rubén focused mainly on the actions developed by Vertidos Cero within the project. This entity is responsible for promoting passive marine garbage collection campaigns carried out by fishing vessels. The fishermen pick up the garbage that is entangled in the fishing gear and store it on board. Once in the port, the garbage collected is weighed, and part of it is periodically characterized by the project technicians through the MARNOBA App. The stored garbage is periodically removed by a specialized waste manager.
During the first year of the project, participating fishing vessels (more than 70 vessels in 12 Spanish ports) removed more than 6 tons of waste, among which were mainly plastic, metal objects, glass and others (clothing, footwear, tyres, etc.).
Marinha mentioned the case of the Azores, where due to its location and the low industrialization of the islands there should be little marine litter; however, due to its proximity to the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, large amounts of marine litter are accumulating on their shores.
She also explained the Marine Litter Action Plan carried out by the Azores, in which scientific research and monitoring projects are developed to provide data on the abundance and distribution of this waste, as well as its impact on the marine ecosystem. They are also monitoring marine litter in coastal bathing areas and in the water column (information collected by fishery observers). Within the action plan, annual campaigns are also carried out to raise awareness among the regional population. She concluded the presentation by commenting on different programmes and methodologies for sampling macro and micro litter.
Learn more about the project: https://www.cocacolaespana.es/mares-circulares
- Irene Diez – Ecoalf Foundation- “Upcycling the Oceans”
Irene presented Ecoalf, a Spanish brand that 10 years ago began to manufacture top-quality clothes with marine waste from fishing (nets). This idea is based on the circular economy, giving a second chance to the products derived from fishing, generating garments that have an added value and demonstrating that it is not necessary to abuse the natural resources of the planet indiscriminately. In this context, she presented Upcycling the Oceans, a project that promotes the collection of waste by the fishing sector, mainly trawling. Upcycling the Oceans Spain was created in September 2015 by the Ecoalf Foundation as a pilot project involving 9 fishing ports. A year later it joined the ECOEMBES project to expand it all along the Spanish coast and ensure the correct management of all waste recovered. Currently, it has managed to involve more than 500 boats in 37 ports. More than 400 tons of waste have been recovered since the beginning of the project, of which 10% corresponds to PET.
Learn more about the project: https://ecoalf.com/es/p/upcycling-the-oceans-espana-16