Marine litter, including plastic litter, as a source of marine pollution, has become a matter of increasing global and national concern.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has, therefore, prioritised efforts to deal with the challenge of marine litter, as there is said to be sufficient evidence that a large percentage of pollution in the ocean originates from sources on land.

In response to this growing concern, the department has developed a Source-to-Sea initiative focusing on managing litter sources, mainly from upstream catchments where the litter gets transported to the ocean and coastal areas by rivers and tributaries that discharge into the ocean.

The Source-to-Sea programme involves multiple government departments at national, provincial and local level, as well as the private sector and other stakeholders, working in priority catchment areas, and providing job opportunities through the Working for the Coast programme.

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy on June 8 - World Oceans Day - said the main objective of the pilot project is to reduce the prevalence of marine litter by up-scaling efforts to capture and recover litter in river systems.

The project is also aimed at monitoring and characterising the recovered litter and to conduct school and community awareness initiatives.

Creecy added that, as part of the Presidency’s Employment Stimulus Initiative, the DFFE is expanding the Source-to-Sea programme into 16 coastal districts with the target of creating about 1 600 job opportunities.

Planning is under way to start this initiative in July.

“As we grow our oceans economy, we also have to be cognisant of the impact of increasing human activity on the health of our oceans. It is essential that we manage our footprint and impact and put in place measures to protect our ocean and coastal ecosystems and biodiversity within the context of sustainable development,” the Minister noted, adding that it is for this reason that South Africa’s Oceans Economy programme includes a specific priority and focus on marine protection and ocean governance.

Globally, plastic production has reached new highs, with over 320-million tonnes now being produced every year. It has been estimated that between four- and 12-million tonnes of plastic are added to the oceans each year.

“Our oceans are globally recognised as unique and a hotspot of marine biodiversity. The Atlantic, Southern and Indian Ocean’s fishing grounds are among the healthiest worldwide, and coastal tourism is, and has the potential to be a significant income earner for many African coastal nations,” Creecy concluded.