Marine litter data collection training

In August and September 2019, two national marine litter data collection training workshops were held in Kenya (13 to 22 August 2019) and Seychelles (26 August to 4 September 2019). These events, which involved both classroom and fieldwork training, were organized under the project “Implementation of UN Environment Assembly Resolutions on Marine Litter and Microplastics”. The activities were supported by the Global Partnership on Marine Litter which is hosted within the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities. The workshops were effected through partnerships between the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) the National Environment Management Authority (for the Kenya workshop) and the Environment Department of Seychelles (for the Seychelles workshop). Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) provided technical support for the execution of the training and data collection. UNEP also worked in close collaboration with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, WIOMSA, and the Nairobi Convention for the organization of the events. The workshops aimed to build capacity for marine litter monitoring while simultaneously collecting good baseline data on marine litter in these countries.

A total of 28 and 16 participants attended the Kenya and Seychelles workshops, respectively. Participants were drawn from government institutions, civil society, and academia. In Kenya, over 130 sites were sampled at inland, river, coastal, and offshore locations from Malindi town to the border with Tanzania. For Seychelles, 81 sites were sampled on the main island, Mahe, comprised of 25 coastal, 31 inland, and 25 river sites.