South Pacific

The Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP) is working with partners across the South Pacific to support their efforts to tackle marine litter.

Marine litter is found in all the oceans of the world. It is found not only in densely populated parts of the Commonwealth but also in remote areas, far from obvious sources and human contact. Up to 90% of marine litter is made up of plastics, originating from both land and sea-based sources.

Through CLiP, Cefas is working with partners across the Commonwealth to share expertise and find solutions to the environmental and socio-economic problems caused by litter in the marine environment. Scientists are collaborating with national governments, local authorities, regional sea conventions, NGOs, universities and industry to help identify country specific solutions. The programme will support actions to reduce the amount of waste entering the marine environment, contributing towards making our oceans cleaner, healthier and more sustainable. Throughout the programme, Cefas will work alongside partners to run workshops, undertake training and capacity-building sessions, as well as carry out scientific monitoring and research in each country.

Within the Pacific region, the CLiP programme is partnering with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. CLiP engagement in these countries started in November 2018 and builds on existing work being done by local partners. National policy workshops took place in both Vanuatu and Solomon Islands in January at which CLiP work was presented to allow each country to consider how science and data can help inform future actions. A regional conference will follow in which participants from across the South Pacific region will be invited to learn about CLiP findings and share local ideas on actions which may be taken to tackle marine litter.