Search Results (13)

Research on the dynamic mechanisms driving the accumulation of anthropogenic marine debris (AMD) in highly dynamic environments, such as extensive sandy beaches, remains limited. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used to map macro-marine litter in these environments over large temporal and spatial scales, but several challenges remain in their interpretation. In this study, secondary school students participated in a citizen science initiative, during which they identified, marked, and classified waste items using a series of UAV orthophotos collected along an 800 m extended Italian beach in different seasons. A specific training program and a collection of working tools were developed to support these activities, which were carried out under the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The accuracy of the citizen science approach was evaluated by comparing its results with standard in situ visual census surveys conducted in the same area. This methodology not only enabled an analysis of the temporal dynamics of AMD accumulation but also served an important educational function. The effectiveness of the learning experience was estimated using pre- and post-activity questionnaires. The results indicate a clear improvement in the students’ knowledge, interest, and awareness regarding marine litter, highlighting the potential of citizen science to both support environmental monitoring and promote sustainability education among younger generations. Full article

This study explores the role of social media in raising awareness, fostering community engagement, and supporting efforts to reduce marine and coastal litter in Cyprus. Focusing on campaigns led by community-based organizations such as Yesil Baris Hareketi, Teneke Cocuk, and the Spot Turtle Project, the research highlights how digital platforms can mobilize public opinion and influence pro-environmental behaviors. Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms particularly natural language processing (NLP) techniques were employed to analyze large volumes of social media data, enabling the detection of engagement patterns, sentiment dynamics, and thematic trends within environmental campaigns. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining social media content analysis, engagement metrics, and stakeholder interviews to provide a comprehensive view of the digital advocacy landscape. Findings suggest that social media plays a critical role in shaping public perceptions of marine litter; however, sustaining long-term behavioral change remains a significant challenge. The study offers practical recommendations for enhancing digital strategies, strengthening stakeholder collaboration, and integrating social media efforts with policy development and environmental education. Full article

The ubiquitous presence of marine litter has brought huge environmental pressure. A wide range of measures have been developed to address this problem. This paper focuses on the removal measure—Fishing for Litter (FEL). It aims to identify the potential factors affecting fishers’ participation in the FFL program. A two-step approach, including interviews and questionnaire surveys, was employed. A total of 10 fishers participated in the interviews, and 8 factors were initially identified using thematic analysis and utilized in the questionnaire design. A total of 412 valid samples were collected. Descriptive statistics and binary logit regression were used for data analysis. The results showed that rewards, the participation of other friends, and inconveniences or troubles incurred from handling trash feature most in fishers’ decision-making on the participation. Furthermore, fishers’ views toward marine environments also had a behavioral impact on their participation in the program. Potential management measures were proposed, including reducing inconveniences incurred from handling trash on board as well as at ports, providing rewards, encouraging environmental education for fishers, and distributing information regarding the program. It is hoped that fishers will eventually make it a normal onboard practice to collect trash found at sea and develop a sense of marine environmental stewardship. Full article

Mismanaged and excessive waste has adverse effects on natural environments, economies, and human health. To address these waste issues, the Sustainability with Awareness and Prevention Solutions Program was developed and implemented in communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast (USA) with the aim to provide the knowledge and actions needed to reduce or eliminate mismanaged and excessive waste. The program uses four educational modules focused on (1) microplastics in the watershed, (2) food waste, (3) single-use plastics, and (4) involvement in community prevention and removal programs. The program curriculum was written to meet education standards in Mississippi for 5th grade gifted, 6–8th grades, and 9–12th grades, and can be easily adapted to other states’ curriculums. The program provides material incentives to participants so knowledge learned can immediately be translated to behavior change. The program is continually being developed to find the best methods to implement behavior change at multiple scales. Full article

This review summarizes recent data related to the management of marine plastic litter to promote sustainable development. It discusses the distribution and identification of marine plastic litter, assesses the potential socio-economic and environmental impacts of these pollutants, and explores their recovery strategies, from a circular economy perspective. The main findings indicate that the majority of marine plastic litter originates from land-based sources. Current technologies and approaches for valorizing marine plastic litter include mechanical and chemical recycling, blockchain technologies by providing traceability, verification, efficiency and transparency throughout the recycling process, and public awareness programs and education. The developed policies to prevent marine plastic litter emphasize regulations and initiatives focused toward reducing plastic use and improving plastic waste management. By adopting a holistic and sustainable approach, it is possible to mitigate the environmental impact of marine plastic debris while simultaneously creating economic opportunities. Full article

Satoumi is advocated for coastal sustainability under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), and has provided a basis for countries around the world to formulate national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Given the significant impact of environmental changes and socio-economic decline, relevant policy directions and practices are urgently required to promote the sustainable development of fishing communities in Taiwan. However, local residents and communities are not sufficiently aware of or involved in this concept to facilitate the development of a holistic Satoumi implementation strategy. Therefore, this study integrates the concepts of Satoumi actions and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has adopted a questionnaire survey to investigate the perceptions of 202 fishing community residents in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City and Yilan County towards these concepts. The standpoint and perception of the fishing community residents regarding Satoumi actions and SDGs provided a valuable reference. The results of the perception of Satoumi actions revealed that all of the respondents recognized Satoumi actions. However, the ranking demonstrated the urgency for some actions (e.g., clear marine litter), and measures that have been implemented in Taiwan but still need improvement (e.g., fish stocking practices). Satoumi actions were associated with two key factors that affect the perception of residents at Satoumi: “Empowerment through community-based industry and environmental education”, and “Conservation of crucial biological resources and habitats”. For the SDGs perceptions, the two factors were “Marine socio-economic sustainability” and “The sustainable use of marine ecological resources”. This study also adopted cluster analysis and identified three characteristically different groups of residents: The Conservation Priority Group, Industry–Society Priority Group, and Balanced Development Group. According to the major research findings, policies implemented in coastal areas of Taiwan have aligned with global sustainability trends. However, the attitude of the Industry–Society Priority Group, which has the largest sample size, should be changed to that held by the Balanced Development Group, in order to formulate a strategy for a balanced development that secures existing livelihoods and aligns with expectations on environmental sustainability. This study suggests that methodologies that encourage stakeholder interactions, dialogues, and consensus-building should be utilized to develop strategies for future work. Furthermore, policy tools related to coastal management should be analyzed to establish a comprehensive toolkit for coastal governance. Finally, Satoumi requires public–private collaboration to achieve both biodiversity conservation and transformative change towards more sustainably and equitably social, environmental, and economic coastal development. Full article

It is well established that most of the plastic pollution found in the oceans is transported via rivers. Unfortunately, the main processes contributing to plastic and debris displacement through riparian systems is still poorly understood. The Marine Litter Drifter project from the Arno River aims at using modern consumer software and hardware technologies to track the movements of real anthropogenic marine debris (AMD) from rivers. The innovative “Marine Litter Trackers” (MLT) were utilized as they are reliable, robust, self-powered and they present almost no maintenance costs. Furthermore, they can be built not only by those trained in the field but also by those with no specific expertise, including high school students, simply by following the instructions. Five dispersion experiments were successfully conducted from April 2021 to December 2021, using different types of trackers in different seasons and weather conditions. The maximum distance tracked was 2845 km for a period of 94 days. The activity at sea was integrated by use of Lagrangian numerical models that also assisted in planning the deployments and the recovery of drifters. The observed tracking data in turn were used for calibration and validation, recursively improving their quality. The dynamics of marine litter (ML) dispersion in the Tyrrhenian Sea is also discussed, along with the potential for open-source approaches including the “citizen science” perspective for both improving big data collection and educating/awareness-raising on AMD issues. Full article

Marine debris and floating marine debris issues have recently become a matter of great concern. The present study selected Kenting National Park and Northeast Cape and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area as the survey areas, where most of the popular scuba diving spots in Taiwan are located, to identify the volume, types, and sources of marine litter. The findings could be regarded as the foundation for future study and the suggestions for managerial strategies. The visual and line transect methods were used to conduct fourteen investigations of marine litter in four scuba diving spots from June 2020 to November 2020. Descriptive analysis and the chi-square test were used to analyze the volume, types, and sources of marine litter, as well as the different distributions under diverse locations, terrains, season, and tides. The results indicate that 2841 pieces of marine litter are identified, including 1786 (63%) plastic containers, 312 (11%) plastic bags, 254 (9%) disposable tableware for take-out beverages, 285 (10%) other materials, 72 (2%) cigarette butts, and 30 (1%) fishery and recreational fishing pieces. Different seasons, locations, and tides cause a significantly different marine litter distribution among these areas. The findings are expected to promote source reduction, develop shore and underwater cleaning proposals, and enhance marine protection education. Full article

Coastal areas around the world are under increasing environmental pressures from marine litter. In particular, tourism in coastal tourist areas suffers with waste littering on the coast, as well as in the water. Therefore, substantial costs are required for the handling of marine litter in order to achieve sustainable development in the tourism sector. The introduction of an entrance fee as an economic tool is a feasible way to provide alternative financing, in addition to limited government funding. The objective of this study was to estimate tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for visiting a marine litter-free coastal attraction, and examine the factors affecting the WTP. A questionnaire was employed using a single-bound dichotomous choice method on Libong Island, Thailand, between September and December 2020. A logistic model was used to estimate the WTP of the 1655 respondents. The mean WTP obtained is THB 92.24 per person per visit (approximately USD 3). The expected benefit of charging an entrance fee is THB 27.52 million (USD 0.88 million) for 2019. The factors influencing WTP are bid amount, age, education, monthly income, marine litter perception, and environmentally responsible behaviors. Associated initiatives were recommended to achieve coastal destination sustainability, including regular clean-up operations at beaches, seagrass beds, and surrounding waters; the placement and maintenance of litter facilities; and the promotion of marine litter awareness and environmentally responsible behaviors. Full article

Marine litter has had a huge impact on the marine environment and the socio-economic activities that depend on healthy oceans. All members of the community must play their part to address marine litter. Teachers are agents of change that are capable of encouraging pro-environmental practices among the community that will reduce environmental issues, including marine litter. However, teachers were found to have limited knowledge regarding ocean literacy and marine pollution. A scoping review was conducted to identify various aspects of content knowledge related to marine litter education that has been recently conducted for school teachers and students. Web of Science, Scopus and ERIC databases were searched for articles published in English between 2015 and 8 July 2021. Fourteen peer-reviewed articles were selected for this study and were subjected to content analysis. Topics related to marine litter were frequently addressed. Meanwhile, topics related to teaching Environmental Education/Education for Sustainable Development (EE/ESD) were the least addressed. Benthic marine litter, solutions to marine litter and the introduction of new types of marine litter were identified as topics that need to be addressed in future marine litter education. This study lists content knowledge based on previous literature and identified the gaps, which will be useful for teachers to improve their knowledge and implement effective marine litter education in school. Full article

Marine litter has been considered one of the most serious global challenges, requiring urgent action by governmental bodies, especially in African Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where resources and research are limited. In addition to this, waste management and environmental education and ocean literacy programs in schools are scarce, with islands suffering more seriously from these problems. Despite the amount of literature regarding causes and impacts of marine litter, there is still not enough research conducted concerning the public perceptions on both the problem and the potential solutions. This is even more noticeable in African developing countries, where resources and research are scarce. Perception plays a key role for ecosystem management and conservation policies. This study intends to explore the perceptions of local island fishing communities in Cape Verde regarding marine litter, in order to contribute for an improvement of marine ecosystem management and development of conservation policies. To achieve that, two participatory sessions were conducted in two communities in the island of Santiago—Porto Mosquito and Porto Gouveia—where brainstorming and active listening were used to create shared and authentic spaces for dialogue between the members of the community. Results show that the population of both communities were very aware of the marine litter problem. They were able to identify the lack of a proper waste management system in the island and the inappropriate behaviours of the population as the main causes of this problem. Equipment damages and the presence of plastic inside the fish were the most relevant impacts identified by the participants. These findings reinforce previous research on the importance of public engagement and environmental education to contribute to the conservation of marine ecosystems and to build a strong collaborative ocean governance. Full article

Marine litter is a global problem which has been negatively affecting the environment. Plastic materials are the most commonly found marine debris, with potential biological (not only for aquatic organisms but also for humans) as well as socio-economic impacts. Considering that it is an anthropogenic problem, society could play an important role to minimize it. Although a considerable amount of research has addressed the biological effects of plastics (micro(nano)plastics) on biota, few studies have addressed how scientific information is being transmitted to the public and the potential role of citizen environmental education. The current paper discusses known effects, researched topics and how scientific knowledge is currently being transmitted to the public. Full article

(1) The amount of plastic discharges in the environment has drastically increased in the last decades negatively affecting aquatic ecosystems, societies, and the world economy. The policies initiated to deal with this problem are insufficient and there is an urgency to initiate local actions based on a deep understanding of the factors involved. (2) This paper investigates the potential of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to spread environmental education. Therefore, the conclusions drawn from the implementation of a MOOC to combat the problem of marine litter in the world are presented. (3) This work describes the activity of 3632 participants from 64 countries taking an active role presenting useful tools, connecting them with the main world associations, and defining applied action plans in their local area. Pre- and post-questionnaires explore behavioral changes regarding the actions of participants to combat marine litter. The role of MOOCs is contrasted with social media, formal education, and informal education. (4) Findings suggest that MOOCs are useful instruments to promote environmental activism, and to develop local solutions to global problems, for example, clean beaches, supplanting plastic bottles, educational initiatives, and prohibition of single-use plastic. Full article