The persistence of pollution caused by plastic means that its presence at sea is one of the greatest environmental disasters for our future. Once discarded into the natural environment, plastic can take up to 500 years to disappear. Under the effect of the sun, it breaks into fragments and generates a sort of “plastic soup”. Accumulating on the seabed, it contributes to oxygen depletion. Drifting between waters, it can suffocate the fauna which ingest it or get trapped. Becoming part of the food chain, it poses a serious public health issue. By fragmenting, the material become invisible but its presence is still harmful.
Facing this major threat for the environment, the Foundation is engaged at different levels to stem the entrance of plastic in the sea.
With its partners, Surfrider Foundation Europe, Tara Expeditions Foundation, the Mava Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Foundation have decided to take action in order to change production and consumption patterns.
The organizations have got together as the «Beyond plastic Med » (BeMed) Task Force to inform and mobilize civil society based on actions in the field and regional communication campaigns.
BeMed aims at reaching the issue at its sources to obtain sustainable results. Positive and innovative initiatives exist to develop and implement solutions of technological, industrial and institutional nature, or regarding awareness and education efforts.
To encourage these actions BeMed task force has decided to launch calls for Micro-Initiatives.
The 1st call organized in 2016 led to the selection of ten projects from Greece, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Albania, Lebanon, Tunisia and Montenegro. A second call for Micro-Initiatives was launched at the Our Ocean conference in Malta, in October 2017.
