Many people are aware of plastic pollution in the oceans. Photos of turtles or seabirds entangled in plastic garbage first went viral in the 1990s, and the is now the focus of highly publicized cleanup efforts.

Less recognized is how marine plastic waste affects human populations, and the unequal burden on different communities. A report, 鈥�,鈥� outlines the current situation and attempts to address the problem.

鈥淲e all benefit from plastics, but some people are paying more of the external costs in terms of the environmental damage, well-being issues and just horrendous scenes that they must live with in places they call home,鈥� said project leader , a 91爆料 professor of practice in marine and environmental affairs and director of The Nippon Foundation .

Increasingly, the greenhouse gases causing climate change are seen as an issue in which some countries produce most of the pollution while other countries or groups are more at risk from the long-term consequences. Plastic pollution, this report argues, is a similar issue for coastal communities.

The report, published in late November, includes 31 authors from nine countries. It incorporates case studies and analyses from around the world as well as larger, overarching recommendations for change.

The authors conclude that coastal communities most affected by marine plastic pollution should be better represented in drafting potential solutions. A free, virtual event in March will bring together stakeholders from around the world to draw up a road map for an equity-focused path to address marine plastics.

The Ocean Nexus Center was founded in 2019 as a 10-year initiative based in 91爆料 EarthLab that includes more than 20 member universities and organizations around the world. Its mission is to bring together equity and justice in the oceans on a global scale.

The recently published report covers topics such as:

• A call to replace the term 鈥減lastic litter鈥� with 鈥減lastic pollution.鈥� The word 鈥渓itter鈥� frames the issue on a small scale that can be addressed with better waste collection, disposal or recycling, rather than broader industry-wide changes to production.
• A discussion of the rise in plastic waste during the COVID-19 pandemic, through masks, gloves, face shields and a resurgence of single-use and individually wrapped products.
• Chapters that provide place-based case studies, including interviews with local residents about their experiences with marine plastics. Locations include a fishing community in Ghana, coastal mangrove forests in Ecuador, and an island in southern Japan that includes both tourists and residents.
• Two analyses of waste cleanup programs 鈥� Washington state鈥檚 and the program in the Netherlands.
• A section with multiple authors focused on the island of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Maori perspectives have been disregarded in efforts to address marine plastic pollution, authors write, despite the greater impact and importance of marine environments for Maori people鈥檚 livelihood and culture.
• A review of international rules for plastic waste disposal 鈥� a patchwork of regulations including the Basel Convention, a nonbinding agreement that the U.S. has not signed.
• A critique of Coca-Cola Co.鈥檚 鈥� as an example of industry-backed solutions to marine plastic pollution that focus on individual consumers, rather than bigger, more permanent solutions that could reduce plastic waste.

鈥淐oca-Cola is the world鈥檚 biggest producer of plastic waste, and it serves as a case study of how multinational corporations engage in waste reduction and corporate social responsibility,鈥� said lead author , a 91爆料 postdoctoral researcher in marine and environmental affairs who wrote the analysis of Coca-Cola鈥檚 initiative.

鈥淎s we highlight in the report, one of the key actions we see as imperative for addressing marine plastic pollution is refocusing the problem as one of plastics production, rather than as an issue of waste management,鈥� Vandenberg said.

, a Seattle-based artist, created digital watercolor paintings that appear throughout the document. The report is funded by The Nippon Foundation and is intended to be an accessible, comprehensive summary of the issue that can be read by policymakers, educators and other audiences, Ota said.

The March event will bring together audiences to implement the report鈥檚 main recommendations. Visit The Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center to find forthcoming event details.

For more information, contact Ocean Nexus marketing and communications lead Ariel Wang at arielyw@uw.edu, Ota at yota1@uw.edu or Vandenberg at jvandenb@uw.edu (note: Vandenberg is currently a visiting scholar at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, on Central European Time).

“The human relationship with oceans under current political economies is unsustainable, unstable and inequitable,” Yoshitaka Ota, director of the center.

“We need to create a new platform for ocean governance to recognize injustices, embrace diverse knowledge systems and actually embody these values to make oceans equitable for everyone.”

And that is the goal of the Ocean Nexus Center, a 10-year collaboration between the a global leader addressing challenges facing the world’s oceans, and , the 91爆料’s multidisciplinary institute that researches key environmental challenges.

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 鈥� called the , or just the Decade 鈥� is an international initiative toward achieving the environmental standards set in the agenda. These include “improving equity in the design, conduct and utilization of ocean science.”

Ocean Voices is a program of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center dedicated to advancing equity in Ocean Decade activities by identifying barriers to and enabling conditions for fairness and justice in ocean science “so that no one is left behind through the Decade.”

Now, the Ocean Voices program has been officially by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, as one of its first 28 “” 鈥� or programs to be undertaken in the next 10 years to help “create the ocean we want” by 2030.

Ota, who is a research assistant professor in the 91爆料 School of Marine and Environmental Affairs as well as director of the Ocean Nexus Center, praised the Decade Actions designation for Ocean Voices.

“This program will advance equity in the Decade through interdisciplinary research and partnerships that will examine how ocean science can support a more equitable and sustainable world, and how to prevent the science from being used, misused or ignored.”

Read more on the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center’s .

A published March 17 in Nature by the 91爆料-based suggests how different parts of the world might begin to achieve these goals.

鈥淲hen ocean or coastal development is planned, decision-makers focus on available data to inform their decisions. The fact is, we have a lot more data about resources than about how development will actually impact the people who bear the risk and maintain the stewardship of the area,鈥� said co-author , a 91爆料 research assistant professor of marine and environmental affairs.

Ota directs the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, launched in 2020 by The Nippon Foundation and as a 10-year program to transform ocean governance so oceans benefit everyone equitably.

Building on publicly available global data, the new study scores criteria across five global regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania 鈥� which includes Australia, New Zealand and island states in the South Pacific. The authors then identified where investment and research are needed to develop ocean resources in a manner consistent with a Blue Economy. The 鈥渆nabling conditions鈥� that must be addressed include corruption, economic and group equity, gender equality, human rights, biodiversity, habitat, water quality, infrastructure, investment and national stability.

鈥淲hen people talk about the future of the ocean economy, there鈥檚 a lot of attention on the resources themselves, like the fish, mangroves, offshore wind and so on,鈥� said lead author , research associate at the University of British Columbia and deputy director of the center.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 great to know, but the most important question we need to be asking is: How are we going to make sure that we develop those resources in ways that actually benefit local communities? Otherwise, we鈥檙e back to business-as-usual, where only a few benefit from ocean resources. This is what the Blue Economy is trying to change.鈥�

Differences in Blue Economy ratings between regions were related less to local ocean resources, the authors found, and more to enabling conditions such as human rights, national stability and corruption. Local communities must decide what ocean sectors are the most appropriate, with input from a wide range of stakeholders and perspectives.

鈥淭his paper is our attempt to begin to gather the data for what we actually need to know and to begin the conversation about equity impacts with concrete terms and numbers,鈥� Ota said. 鈥淭hese are necessary steps to stop the dominant, one-size-fits-all approach that ignores social implications and diverse values.”

The research was funded by the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center. Other authors are William Cheung, Pedro Gonzalez-Espinosa, Vicky Lam and Muhammed Oyinlola at UBC; Marcia Moreno-Baez at the University of New England in Maine; Katherine Crosman, a research scientist at the 91爆料; Gerald Singh at Memorial University of Newfoundland; Wilf Swartz at Dalhousie University; and Chongwei Zheng at Dalian Naval Academy.

For more information, contact Ota at yota1@uw.edu and Cisneros-Montemayor at a.cisneros@oceans.ubc.ca.

Adapted from a at the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center.

The 91爆料 and The Nippon Foundation today announced the聽, an interdisciplinary research group at the 91爆料 that studies changes, responses and solutions to societal issues that emerge in relationship with the oceans. The Center will bring uncompromised, critical voices to policy and public conversations to enable research and studies equaling $32.5 million spread over 10 years.

鈥淭he sustenance of humanity depends on our mother ocean,鈥� said Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of The Nippon Foundation. 鈥淎nd so today, I am happy to announce this new partnership with the 91爆料 to embark on a long-term commitment to ensure our ocean鈥檚 health, 10,000 years into the future. As an NGO that brings together diverse stakeholders to address the complex challenges facing our oceans, we felt that partnering with the 91爆料, a world leader in not only the ocean and environment, but in multidisciplinary collaboration and research, was a perfect fit. I am excited that the next generation of thought leaders will be emerging from this center to share their research findings to guide the world toward ocean sustainability.鈥�

Based on the philosophy of passing on sustainable oceans to future generations, The Nippon Foundation of Tokyo has been working for over three decades with governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and research institutions to foster 1,430 ocean professionals from 150 countries.聽The Ocean Nexus Center will be housed in 91爆料 , an institute established in 2015 to connect 91爆料 research with community partners to discover equitable solutions to our most complex environmental challenges.

鈥淥cean Nexus exists to bridge the gap between decision makers, policy makers and the communities most affected and dependent on the oceans,鈥� said , the Center鈥檚 director and a research assistant professor in 91爆料 School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. 鈥淭his is a chance to do something bold and really push the boundaries of understanding our relationship with oceans, and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 excited to do.鈥�

The Center aims to build the next generation of ocean thought leadership by offering opportunities, networks and training for early-career interdisciplinary scholars. The research is global and seeks to embrace cultural diversity and community sovereignty.聽Current 91爆料 partners include the School of Public Health, the Information School and the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.

鈥淲ithout EarthLab we couldn鈥檛 have done this,鈥� Ota said. 鈥淭his is a very complex operation. We鈥檙e taking a quite unorthodox approach to environmental issues. But that鈥檚 why this is a perfect fit for EarthLab, because they鈥檙e lightning-focused on collaborations that can lead to equitable change.鈥�

鈥淲e know that the world鈥檚 oceans are in trouble and that the communities that rely on oceans the most for life and livelihood are more likely to suffer and need to be engaged,鈥� said Ben Packard, EarthLab鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淲e are thrilled to partner with The Nippon Foundation to support the Ocean Nexus Center to build capacity for transdisciplinary research and bring an equity and justice lens to ocean governance.鈥�

Researchers already know that environmental changes, such as pollution and ocean acidification, can cause health and economic impacts on communities. But scientists and decision-makers still do not have all of the information to implement solutions that take into account those most in need.

The Center will leverage the natural-science-oriented network created through the , an international initiative comprising an interdisciplinary team of 20 institutes. To date, researchers from 13 other universities from around the world, in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Malaysia and more, have already signed on to new interdisciplinary projects with Ocean Nexus. Topics cover a range of issues including ocean acidification adaptation, sustainable development of oceans, equitable allocation of transboundary fisheries, and gender in ocean governance.

As policy director of the Nereus Program, Ota brings more than a decade of experience exploring ways to take a human-centered approach to resolving ocean issues. Unfortunately, class and power determine who benefits from the ocean and who does not, he said.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 the gap?鈥� he asked. 鈥淲ith the right evidence and policies, we can bridge that gap equitably and create shared and classless oceans for all.鈥�

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For more information, contact Ota at oceannexus@uw.edu.