Photo: The Water Quality and Marine Pollution Workshop team
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Fri. June 30, 2023
In a noteworthy partnership, marine scientists from the United Kingdom, Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP), and Belize’s Department of Environment (DOE) are working together in an effort to tackle the menace of plastic pollution in our oceans. Their dual goal is to make the oceans cleaner and healthier for everyone and ensure that Belize’s rich marine life can continue to thrive.
The Water Quality and Marine Pollution Workshop took place on Tuesday, June 27, at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City, where the DOE hosted conservationists, including managers of marine protected areas, and water quality scientists.
According to research, it’s estimated that nearly eight million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans annually. That’s like emptying a garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. Our beautiful Belizean waters are no exception.
This great amount of plastic waste can be harmful to marine life, causing entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion, which are detrimental to their survival, not to mention the pollution, even in local communities, affecting people’s health.
“We are pleased to be working with our UK partners towards implementing national solutions to the issue of marine litter and water quality, and support the health and livelihoods that depend on the marine environment so that we can protect Belize’s precious natural resources for future generations,” stated the DOE’s Chief Environmental Officer, Anthony Mai, in a press release earlier this week.
Through the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP), this initiative is given significant force. The OCPP is part of the broader Blue Planet Fund, an initiative of the UK government, which seeks to address marine pollution, climate change, and overfishing in developing countries.
In Belize, a significant focus of this partnership is to understand where plastic waste comes from. This information will enable researchers to create effective strategies for preventing plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first place.
A considerable portion of their work also involves creating more sustainable systems for waste management.
However, a challenge in this battle against marine litter is the lack of facilities and infrastructure to manage waste sustainably.
Through an approach that blends scientific research with practical solutions, they are aiming to work in microplastic labs where different kinds of plastics and beach litter will be studied to measure the outstanding cause of plastic pollution.
“The UK has been working with local colleagues and stakeholders to monitor litter, clean beaches, and raise awareness of sustainable actions,” explained H.E. Nicole Davison, the British High Commissioner to Belize in the same press release.
The press release also noted other efforts undertaken by this collaboration, including:
- Planned training and guidance for “Green Listing Belize’s Marine Protected Areas (MPA)”, funding site-level Management Effectiveness Assessments for 14 MPAs, and updating MPA Management Plan templates.
- Reviewing of collected data for recommendations.
- Reviewing of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; delivering an independent review of the rights-based fishing Managed Access; building a better understanding of fishing activity, and identifying new technologies that help to monitor and enforce.
- Support safe and sustainable aquaculture, improve biosecurity, and strengthen regulatory frameworks for animal health and trade.