Source: IMO

A Regional Task Force meeting in Costa Rica is taking place as part of the GloLitter Partnerships project to reduce marine plastic litter from maritime transport and the fishing sector. The event in San Jose (6-9 December) is a chance for Latin American and Caribbean participants to explore twinning opportunities to address marine plastic litter originating from shipping and fisheries in their region.

The host, Costa Rica, is a GloLitter Lead Partner Country (LPC) and is joined at the meeting by Jamaica, also a GloLitter LPC, along with Nicaragua and Panama, the project’s Partner Countries (PCs). The event is organized in partnership with IMO’s Technical Cooperation Division (TCD) through the Central American Commission on Maritime Transport (COCATRAM). Co-sponsors of the event are the Government of Norway (NORAD), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and IMO TCD.

Other countries have been invited to take part, including Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. This will allow countries in the region which are not directly involved in the GloLitter project to learn from it and understand the approaches being taken at national level to address the problem of marine plastic litter, and to discuss possible future collaboration to tackle it.

Alongside speakers from IMO, the agenda includes presentations from international experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Central America organization for Fishing and Aquaculture (OSPESCA) and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on topics such as MARPOL Annex V, the London Protocol, Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear (VGMFG), and the recycling of fishing gear. Best practice in how to manage port reception facilities will also be addressed.