Reducing the impacts of plastic waste in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

塑料泄漏到环境中是一种巨大的系统故障，威胁着海洋生态系统，并在全球范围内造成物理和化学污染。据估计，每年有1200万吨塑料进入海洋，这已迅速成为全球关注的问题。由于环境退化、旅游业收入损失以及清理和修复成本，这种塑料污染造成的经济损失每年约为130亿美元。这在东太平洋沿岸国家厄瓜多尔和秘鲁是一个特别的问题，这两个国家拥有具有重大生态、经济和养护重要性的海洋，有大量地球上其他地方所没有的特有物种，包括鱼类、爬行动物、鸟类和哺乳动物。这种独特的生物多样性的健康对世界主要捕鱼区之一和不断发展的旅游业至关重要，支持沿海人民的各种生计和粮食安全，其中许多人非常贫穷。拉丁美洲生产和使用的塑料总量占全球塑料产量的4%。据估计，其中45%的塑料垃圾管理不善，每年产生约100万吨管理不善的塑料垃圾，如果不采取行动，预计到2025年将翻一番。这一挑战需要一种区域规模的方法，使环境、经济、技术和社会学科能够聚集在一起，建立对造成这一问题的许多因素、其影响以及如何解决这一问题的理解。在过去的三年里，我们在整个地区建立了一个充满热情和参与的网络，致力于为厄瓜多尔、秘鲁和智利的持久变革设计和实施解决方案。我们的网络与每个国家的研究机构、国家公园管理人员和环境部建立了牢固的关系。我们的愿景是减少东太平洋地区的塑料泄漏，支持塑料可持续循环经济体系的发展。我们提出了一个综合的、多学科的项目，有三个核心目标。我们将确定塑料污染的来源和驱动因素，包括绘制整个区域的废物流动图，并对关键行业使用的材料进行生命周期评估。其次，我们将确定目前遍布该地区的塑料污染对经济、生态、健康和福祉的主要影响。第三，我们将实施和测试缓解和减少塑料污染的干预措施，并帮助该地区实现塑料循环利用。由于我们已经在与该地区的利益攸关方合作，我们有一些共同设计的干预措施准备立即进行测试。这些创新包括帮助简化基于新技术的清理行动的监测，以及试验一项以社区为基础的回收渔网的创新计划。作为一项令人兴奋的区域性教育活动的一部分，学生们将被邀请设计干预措施，以尽量减少城市塑料泄漏，以提高内陆和沿海学校和社区的意识。我们将测试这些想法的可扩展性和有效性。除了主题1和主题2中产生的数据外，对这些数据的评价将支持设计和测试进一步的社会、环境和技术创新。为了确保研究取得最大的影响，联盟的合作伙伴包括南美政府机构和部门、非政府组织和企业，他们在与该地区沿海社区的接触方面拥有丰富的经验，并在英国和南美大学之间建立平等的伙伴关系，通过合作和培训来发展当地的研究能力。

The presence of plastic leaking into the environment is a system failure of monumental proportion that threatens the marine ecosystem and causes physical and chemical contamination at a global scale. It is estimated that 12 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans each year and this has rapidly become a global concern. The economic damage of this plastic pollution amounts to around USD13 billion per annum due to degraded environments, loss of revenue from tourism, and costs of clean up and repair. This is a particular issue in the Eastern Pacific rim countries of Ecuador and Peru which host seas of great ecological, economic and conservation importance with high levels of endemic species, including fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, found nowhere else on earth. The health of this unique biodiversity is important to one of the world's key fishing areas and a growing tourism industry, supporting a variety of livelihoods and food security for the coastal people, many very poor. The total amount of plastic produced and used in Latin America represents 4% of the plastic produced globally. It has been estimated that 45% of this is inadequately managed, generating around 1 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste annually, and predicted to double by 2025 if no action is taken. This challenge requires a regional scale approach that allows environmental, economic, technical and social disciplines to come together to build understanding of the many factors contributing to the problem, its impacts and how it can be solved. Over the last three years we have established an enthusiastic and engaged network across the region committed to designing and implementing solutions for lasting change in Ecuador, Peru and Chile. Our network has strong relationships with Research Institutions, National Park managers and Environment Ministries in each country. Our vision is to reduce plastic leakage in the Eastern Pacific region, supporting development of a sustainable, circular economic system for plastics. We propose an integrated, multidisciplinary project with three core aims. We will establish the sources and drivers of plastic pollution including the mapping of waste flows across the region and life cycle assessments of materials used in key industries. Secondly, we will identify the key economic, ecological and health and wellbeing impacts of the current plastic pollution that pervades this region. Thirdly, we will implement and test interventions to mitigate and reduce plastic pollution and help progress the region to circular approaches to plastic. As we are already working with stakeholders in the region, we have some co-designed interventions ready to test immediately. These innovations range from helping streamlining the monitoring of novel-technology based clean-up operations to trialling an innovative community-based scheme to recycle fishing nets. As part of an exciting region-wide educational campaign to develop targeted awareness-raising for inland and coastal schools and communities, students will be invited to design interventions to minimise urban plastic leakage. We will test the scalability and effectiveness of these ideas. The evaluation of these, in addition to data generated in Theme 1 and Theme 2 will support the design and testing of further social, environmental and technical innovations. To ensure the research achieves the maximum impact, the consortium partners include South American government agencies and departments, NGOs and business with extensive experience of engaging coastal communities in the region and equal partnerships between UK and South American universities to develop local research capacity through collaboration and training.