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Trash Free Waters - International
by Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention: UN Environment Caribbean Environment Programme (United Nations entity)
Trash Free Waters Initiative is a partnership involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Peace Corps, United Nations Environment Programme Caribbean Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP) to reduce and prevent land-based trash from entering our watersheds, coastal waters, and the marine environment.

The Trash Free Waters Initiative is driven by the central tenet to catalyze local communities and governments in the Caribbean region to work together to develop marine litter policies and projects that reduce the amount of trash entering the Caribbean Sea. Partners are working with Environment Ministries in to help raise awareness of marine litter and prioritize sustainable solid waste management practices that will also benefit the economy.
Progress reports
14.1
By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
Type of commitment
PLASTICS
  • Coastal clean-ups
  • Plastics product bans or restrictions
  • Plastics recovery/recycling/reuse
14.2
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
Type of commitment
  • Community or Locally Managed Marine Areas
  • Integrated Coastal Management
  • Ecosystem-based Adaptation
14.c
Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want
Type of commitment
  • Activities to raise awareness of the comprehensive legal and policy framework for the sustainable development of oceans and seas, in particular UNCLOS, its Implementing Agreements and other relevant ocean-related instruments and promote their effective im
  • Ratification, accession and acceptance of UNCLOS, its Implementing Agreements and other relevant ocean-related instruments
  • Activities to develop the capacity of States towards broader participation in and effective implementation of UNCLOS and its implementing Agreements
03/17
Stakeholder partnership involving government agencies, NGOs, private sector and industry.
06/18
Development and implementation of at least two community based projects for reducing the impact of solid waste/plastics
12/18
Documentation and Sharing of Best Practices and Lessons Learned
In-kind contribution
100000
Staff / Technical expertise
100000
Financing (in USD)
200,000 USD
Basic information
Time-frame: 2016 January - 2018 December
Website
Partners
Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention - UN Environment Caribbean Environment Programme (UN entity), UN Environment Global Programme of Action (UN entity); UN Environment, Regional Office for Latin America (UN entity), US EPA (Government), Peace Corps (Government), Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (NGO), Caribbean Regional Node for Marine Litter Management (Partnership), Governments of Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Panama.
Ocean Basins
  • North Atlantic
Beneficiary countries
Other beneficaries
National Governments, Local Communities
Contact information
Lorna Inniss, Coordinator, lvi@cep.unep.org, 18769229267
Kingston, Jamaica
Other SDGs
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