Tackling Plastic Pollution
The Umweltbundesamt, the Environment Agency Austria, provides support for the development of regional policies to address marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia.
Current studies suggest that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year. Ninety percent of global marine plastic pollution is estimated to come from just ten rivers, eight of them located in Asia. Dramatic images show marine wildlife getting literally chocked by plastic waste like abandoned fishing gear, straws and shopping bag, which are reversed in the oceans and now threaten the sustainability of ecosystems and economies.
In response to the growing marine pollution threat, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries launched a Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris (2021–2025) that was endorsed by the ASEAN Member States in May 2021.
The Regional Action Plan, which will be implemented over the next five years, rolls out 14 implementation measures to address marine plastic pollution across the region, highlighting many opportunities to catalyze investments, collaborate and apply long-term solutions relating to plastics usage and plastic management.
The Environment Agency Austria, contributed to the development of the Regional Action Plan by providing technical assistance and know-how on plastic, waste management and circular economy for the development of the implementation measures.
Advice on forward-thinking approaches
The Environment Agency Austria is one of Europe´s leading environmental consultants for plastic and marine littering policies in Southeast Asia. In the past two years the Austrian expert institution has been involved in several technical assistance projects including Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia on behalf of World Bank, with the task to support the respective Governments with the development of ad-hoc policies to reduce plastic pollution and littering, enhance the waste management systems, and creating value for plastic waste reuse.
