[Project] PASSPORT-2C: Protocols Adapted to the South for Studying Plastic Origins and River Transfers

Updated 09/08/22

International Scientific Coordination Network - South (IRN/GDRI-Sud)

January 2022 – January 2026

Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Madagascar, Senegal

Context

The scientific community interested in the topic of plastic pollution in the environment is growing worldwide. However, countries of the Global South, pointed out as emitting the most plastic to the ocean, are still understudied and plastic pollution poorly understood. The lack of facilities and technical support to develop adapted methodologies or the lack of national and regional coordination among the different stakeholders may explain this difference.

Modern protocols recommended by renowned and influential expert commissions and regional programs are not adapted to the monitoring of the plastic pollution in the Land to Ocean continuum of the Global South in terms of conceptual and practical approaches and of required data availability. Therefore, a dialogue began amongst researchers of various projects looking at plastic transfer, including projects like the project ITANGO-MOZ in Madagascar and the program DIDEM across the Indian Ocean.

PASSPORT-2C proposes to focus primarily on the transfer of plastics (micro and macro) from Land to Ocean, with a special attention paid to City to Coast components in intertropical zones, including rivers, estuaries, delta, mangroves, lagoons and bays.

card discover — © IRD - Stéphanie Duvail

Etude de terrain sur les macro-déchets, Mozambique

Objectives

The aim of the project PASSPORT-2C is twofold:

To promote exchanges between partners
To develop and share sober, virtuous, robust, sustainable methodologies adapted to intertropical ecosystems in order to study plastic transfer from City to Coast

More specifically, PASSPORT-2C pursues three objectives:

To construct and lead a network of scientists including the Global South in order to open and feed discussions on key methodological issues and their adaptation to the South;
To adapt methodologies of the Global North to countries in the Global South, then to proceed to a South-South knowledge transfer and to conduct a reflective approach on past projects to enhance experience sharing;
To take part in local and regional expert committees, networks and programs to bring Sustainable Science at the forefront of the Global South regions in order to strengthen the inclusion of Southern partners within International Scientific Committees.