| Popis: |
Awareness of and global concern for marine plastic pollution continues to grow, with initiatives being implemented to tackle the problem worldwide. The Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, set at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, in 2019, aims to ‘reduce additional pollution by marine plastics litter to zero by 2050 through a comprehensive life-cycle approach’. Despite the rising profile of this issue, additional research is needed to understand the flow of plastics around the ocean, and patterns in accumulation. This includes the need for increased ocean observation activities to understand the full extent of the threats posed by marine plastics pollution. One ocean connects us all, and therefore international partnerships are essential to achieve this goal. In addition to observation by research institutions, contributions from non-scientific ships - such as pleasure boats, ferries and cargo vessels - are becoming increasingly important in helping to collect survey data across the world. One such collaboration took place during the Japan to Palau Goodwill Yacht Race 2019/2020, which involved developing international partnerships to collaborate on ocean observation in the western North Pacific. This collaboration between the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), the Yacht Race Organising Committee, one of the participating racing yachts, TREKKEE, and sail training ship MIRAIE enabled data collection in order to improve our understanding of the status of plastics pollution in this region. An additional partnership between the Yacht Race Organising Committee and the Republic of Palau (hereafter referred to as ‘Palau’) enabled the participation of children from Palau and their families on this research cruise. The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) partnered with JAMSTEC to design a tailored education programme about ocean conservation for the passengers onboard MIRAIE, to be delivered alongside the microplastics research. This increased the social impact of the research and provided tangible actions to empower nonscientists to help to make a difference. The Sailing Towards a Plastic-Free Ocean project had two primary aims: (1) to conduct marine plastic pollution research, and (2) to educate the next generation of ocean leaders. |
