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Marine Debris Policy Solutions. Chrissy Badaracco Ocean Conservancy Summer 2010. What is Ocean Conservancy?. Non-profit, environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Combination of scientists, media specialists, and policy experts
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Marine Debris Policy Solutions Chrissy Badaracco Ocean Conservancy Summer 2010
What is Ocean Conservancy? • Non-profit, environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. • Combination of scientists, media specialists, and policy experts • Six areas of focus include aquaculture, the Arctic, marine spatial planning, marine protected areas, fisheries, and marine debris
My Internship • Government Affairs Intern • Wrote marine debris policy research paper- current policies and recommendations for future • Attended several hearings on Capitol Hill for supervisors • Assisted in media and policy work for BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Marine Debris Background • “Any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment” (NOAA) • Ecological threats include: • Plastic resin pellets • Dangerous chemicals • Nets and fishing line
Past and Current Policies • MARPOL 73/78: International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships at Sea • UN Convention on the Law of the Sea • London Convention: 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter • Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act of 2006 • 2006 Marine Debris Research, Prevention and Reduction Act
Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act • 3 primary goals: • Identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety • Reactivate the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee • Develop a Federal marine debris information clearinghouse
Future Recommendations • Reducing Ocean-based Debris • Collection on board: improve facilities, work with Coast Guard, increase jurisdiction of MARPOL’s required garbage management plan • Port facilities: increase Coast Guard’s enforcement, offer incentives (deposit-refund system) to ship owners, no-fault policy • Gear labeling: international protocols, localized legislation • Biodegradability and waste-to-fuel operations • Reducing Land-based Debris • Plastic bag and bottle bills
Upcoming Events • International Coastal Clean-Up: September 25 • Largest organized debris clean-up in world • Allows for complete inventory of debris, tracked regionally and globally • Fifth International Marine Debris Conference in Honolulu, March 20-25 • Preceded by US conference in Washington, DC in October