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Marine Litter: Becoming part of the solution |
 Marine litter is a problem worldwide and our Benguela coastline is no exception. We all have, at some stage, come across litter on the seabed, floating in the water or lying on beaches and shores. Increased demand for resources on our coasts has resulted in high levels of domestic and industrial waste from unplanned coastal settlement developments, as well as ongoing seabed mining and petroleum exploration. Communities along the Angolan coast are particularly affected, but marine litter also poses a threat in Namibia and South Africa.
Litter threatens marine life through entanglement and can destroy coastal habitats, but it also has negative effects on tourism and can pose human health and safety concerns. Yet marine litter is more than an environmental problem that needs to be addressed by action plans and legislations. It is also a cultural problem, thus calling for changes in behaviour. We all have a role to play in this regard—from governments to businesses to the public at large—by keeping the beach and the sea clean and by helping to build awareness of the problem.
 That was the goal of a recent pilot project aimed at showing schools and communities what the problem of marine litter is and how they can be part of the solution. Schools in Walvis Bay (Namibia) and Buraco and Mabunda (near Luanda, Angola) cleaned their beaches, drew posters illustrating their activities, and prepared theatre plays about this issue. The one-year project was funded by the BCLME Programme, a joint initiative of the three countries to protect our seas.
Proving that marine litter is a real problem that concerns the government and needs the participation of communities, the initial activities in Walvis Bay led to a follow-up programme with funding from the Municipality of Walvis Bay. The Municipality, schools, communities, Coastal Youth Club, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Walvis Bay Multi Purpose Centre Trust, BCLME Programme, DLIST-Benguela and NACOMA decided to dedicate the World Environment Day to the issue of marine litter. On 5 June 2006, more than 250 people joined hands to clean the coastal area between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
 The Angolan students, the Ecological Youth of Angola (JEA), the Group of Support for Peoples in Need (GAPC), and the Ministry of Fisheries were not discouraged by the huge quantities of litter on the coast, especially in Mabunda where the problem of waste is widespread. In fact, schools in Mabunda often participate in environmental education and awareness raising activities like coastal cleanups, usually sponsored by private companies operating in the country. Also in Buraco, further away from the crowded capital, students and community members carry out regular beach cleanups themselves. The Administrator of Samba Municipality, which includes both Mabunda and Buraco, showed great interest in the initiative and suggested follow-up activities with the support of the Administration and the Ports Authority.
The BCLME Marine Litter Project also reviewed the national and international legislation that governs marine pollution in the three BCLME countries. As discussed in the full report, the legal frameworks for marine litter in the three countries are very different and are in different stages of development. Their application is often hampered by gaps in coordination and enforcement.
While these activities may seem like a drop in the ocean, they will hopefully serve as examples for further action elsewhere. Informative brochures were prepared for further awareness raising activities, and a teacher’s manual compiled with ideas and suggestions for similar school activities. If you have any ideas or similar experiences, we invite you to share them with DLIST on the Discussions.
On DLIST, you can read more about this topic here.
If you want to exchange ideas and hear more about these activities, you can contact Kahepako Kakujaha in Namibia (kkakujaha@walvisbaycc.org.na) and Abias Huongo in Angola (huongoam@hotmail.com), or the DLIST Team (admin@dlist-benguela.org).
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