The Global Partnership on Marine Litter |23 January 2018

Seychelles gets membership on steering committee

Seychelles is the first small island state represented on the steering committee of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML).

GPML, which gathers international agencies, NGOs, businesses, academia, local authorities and governments, seeks to protect human health and the global marine environment by the reduction and management of marine litter.

The steering committee provides oversight of the partnership, promotes its goals and objectives and works with all partners to design and implement specific actions to address the issue of marine litter.

Seychelles will be represented on the steering committee by Alain de Comarmond, principal secretary for Environment.

Habib El-Habr, coordinator of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities at UN Environment, which host the secretariat of the partnership, said that GPML is delighted to welcome

the government of Seychelles to its steering committee.

Seychelles has taken a lot of measures nationally vis-à-vis the problem of marine litter through its solid waste management system, regular beach cleaning by private contractors, recycling programmes for PET Plastic bottles and aluminium cans and also recently the ban on the use of single-use plastic bags, Styrofoam take-away boxes and plastic utensils.

This year will also see the start of a recycling programme for glass bottles.