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Book (stand-alone)Report on good practices to prevent and reduce marine plastic litter from fishing activities 2022Whilst conjecture remains regarding the quantity of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) entering the ocean, ALDFG is recognised as the most harmful form of marine plastic litter irrespective of whether it has been intentionally discarded or accidentally lost – harming vulnerable species, damaging fragile habitats as well as creating navigational hazards and depleting fish stocks. In turn, if left unmanaged, ALDFG can threaten food security, livelihoods and human health. In order to determine good practices to manage and ultimately prevent ALDFG, it is essential to understand the context of the current situation including sources, drivers and impacts of ALDFG. Here, we provide an overview of the status of the fishing related marine plastic litter problem, specifically ALDFG or “ghost gear”, and situate its impact and contribution to the broader sea-based marine plastic litter issue. A key component to successfully manage ALDFG, is heeding lessons learned from existing projects that are in place around the world, acknowledging that management strategies vary significantly across geographies and their application locally must be considered with local circumstances/needs. Using the good practice categories identified by the Global Ghost Gear Initiative’s Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear for Capture Fisheries, ten case studies are presented exemplifying key good practices for the prevention, mitigation and remediation of ALDFG. Based on the good practices identified from the case studies included and the broader global context of the ALDFG problem, this report provide recommendations of mechanisms that can be implemented by GloLitter participating countries and others aiming to prevent, mitigate and remediate fishing related marine plastic litter.
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Book (stand-alone)Environmental capacity; An Approach to Marine Pollution Prevention 1986
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No results found.The aim of this Report is to provide guidelines for the assessment of the impact of potentially harmful substances released into the marine environment. The Environmental (also known as receiving, absorptive or assimilative) Capacity is defined as a property of the environment, a measurement of its ability to accommodate a particular activity or rate of an activity, such as the discharge of contaminants, without unacceptable impact. The Environmental Capacity can be apportioned for various use s. The Report proposes the use of a strategy to combat marine pollution based on this concept of Environmental Capacity. It provides the scientific rationale for the assessment of this entity, the methodology of calculation based on modelling, guidelines for its systematic application, monitoring and reassessment, and provides a number of case studies in the form of examples involving various contaminants and different geographical areas. The Report opens with a short introduction outlining the basic concepts and premisses which lie behind the acceptance of disposal of wastes in the sea. When a development is first proposed, its impact on the whole environment, together with the costs and benefits to society as a whole, must be taken into account before the plans are actually implemented. The procedure is often now known as environmental impact assessment (EIA). This wide-ranging procedure embraces far more than the scientific assessment of the impact of pollutants on the environme nt and as such lies outside the terms of reference of GESAMP. Accordingly, this Report concentrates on describing the parameters and processes which have to be taken into account in the assessment of the impact of pollutants on marine organisms, ecosystems, amenities and human health, as a consequence of any discharges to the marine environment. The methodology of assessment of Environmental Capacity as proposed in the Report, involves critical pathway analysis for both conservative and non- conservative contaminants, establishment of environmental and water quality objectives, criteria and standards. Faced with the inevitability of several sources of uncertainty in real-life conditions, a probabilistic approach is proposed as an alternative to deterministic analysis. The approach proposed is Decision Analysis, and this is exemplified by a flow diagram. The Report does not describe in detail how to gather the basic data or to carry out practical tasks such as conducting toxicity t ests or measuring water movements. To have done so would simply have duplicated material which is already available in the open literature and therefore accessible to those persons who will be brought in to advise or otherwise provide expert opinion on any project. The Report does, however, provide guidelines on how to utilize information to assess the overall impact of the activity on the marine environment. Guidance is provided on those procedures which are most likely to ensure that the activ ity can be contained within the capacity of the marine environment to receive wastes without causing unacceptable effects. The methodology of assessment of the Environmental Capacity is based on scientific research and resulting data. It is, by definition, site- and contaminant-specific. It is accomplished in stages, the preliminary assessment can be accomplished using approximations such as single-box and simple mass-balance models, and by averaging over larger time scales on the assumption o f steady-state conditions. As more data become available and transport and modification processes become better understood, more accurate values of Environmental Capacity will be obtained. These can then be used in environmentally compatible development planning and project implementation. -
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetPlastics in agriculture 2023
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No results found.The use of plastics in agrifood value chains is pervasive. FAO estimates that every year 12.5 million tonnes of plastic products are used in plant and animal production. The crop production and livestock sectors are the largest users, followed by fisheries and aquaculture, and forestry. The benefits of using plastics in agriculture include increased yields and production efficiency alongside reduced food loss and waste, however their use also incurs high environmental, economic and social costs, primarily from increased pollution. The 2021 FAO Assessment Report included a call for global action for improved inter-sectoral collaboration and governance to address the issues of plastic use throughout agrifood systems. The report identified alternatives and interventions to improve the circularity and sound management of agricultural plastics based on the 6R model (Refuse, Redesign, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover).
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