Combatting Plastic Pollution Together
Earlier this year, from April 3-5, community and cultural leaders, scientists, marine managers, policymakers, dignitaries, and conservation professionals gathered in Rapa Nui for the 2024 Rapa Nui Pacific Leaders Summit: Protection of the Oceans and the Region. The primary objective was to facilitate learning, sharing, and promoting actions to address the problems caused by plastic and microplastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean.
Gloria de la Fuente, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, spoke at the inauguration of the Summit and congratulated the participants for accepting the invitation to dialogue about the challenge of plastic and microplastic pollution in the Pacific region and to support actions that integrate both ancestral and scientific knowledge to address climate change, pollution, and ocean protection.
Big Ocean participated in a panel highlighting the importance of jointly leveraging financing and legal mechanisms to address better impacts of global plastics pollution on Pacific communities. The network’s presentation highlighted that most Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs), especially the early adopters, are located in the Pacific, and with more significant investments, these areas could catalyze increased learning and benefits specific to plastic pollution and cleanup for ocean conservation and protection globally.
In parallel to informative presentations and provocative plenary discussions, Summit organizers, attendees, and the Coordinating Team for Pacific Islands Action Plan to Combat Plastic Pollution Together developed the Rapa Nui Declaration, which provides guidance and practical recommendations for negotiators of the Global Plastics Treaty to improve the international response to plastic pollution in island territories. A Policy Brief building upon the Declaration, and providing concrete amendments to the draft text of the Global Plastics Treaty has been officially integrated into the INC-5 negotiations.
Across the last nine months, Big Ocean has tracked the ongoing efforts to extend the impact horizon of the commitments made Rapa Nui across an intense three days of sharing and learning. Although the network focuses on best-practice management broadly, the issues of plastic pollution and marine debris are significant challenges for LSMPA managers and the communities working to help them achieve durability. The network was honored to have participated in the Summit, and we hope that the broader LSMPA Community of Practice is willing to invest its time and resources to support the vision of Summit organizers to protect the ocean for the benefit of people and communities across the Pacific and the globe.
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The Rapa Nui Pacific Leaders Summit 2024: Protection of the Oceans and the Region was an international high-level event organized by the Municipality of Rapa Nui, supported by the United Nations System in Chile, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. The gathering brought together leaders from various islands and coastal territories of the Pacific to promote actions to address plastic and microplastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Additionally, to foster ocean conservation and protection. The Summit also highlighted the importance of integrating scientific and traditional knowledge to address climate change, pollution, and ocean protection.