 Welcome to TV30, a program by the Government Information Service. I am your host for this episode, Joanne Norville, the Science and Technology Officer in the Department of Sustainable Development. You may be aware that the Department of Sustainable Development is currently pursuing a project to develop a marine litter management action plan, which would address the issues of marine litter in St. Lucia, in and around St. Lucia. Under this project, we have a seminar actually coming up in October, which will involve a wide range of stakeholders and help bring the message to the public on how we can address the issues of marine litter in our country. So more about that later in the program, let me introduce Mr. Vishnu Tulsi, the project consultant for the development of this ML map. Thank you, Joanne. So thank you for joining me, Mr. Tulsi, to have this conversation about the ML map, which for those who don't know, is the Marine Litter Management Action Plan. We know that marine litter is a major issue around St. Lucia, and particularly plastic pollution is a huge environmental crisis across the world. So one of the things, I guess, we can start with is what is the intention behind the development of the ML map, or would it hope to achieve as you would on it? Yeah, thanks. I think, yeah, that's a good place to start actually. The Marine Litter Management Action Plan, as the name suggests, will be a national approach, a national strategy to address the problem of marine litter, and in particular plastic pollution. The idea is to really get a sense of the scope of the problem, and that is why the first thing that was done was a national source inventory, so that we could understand where this marine litter is coming from. And once you understand what the sources are, you could then develop the action plan, which we are in the process of doing, to address those sources and by extension to hopefully address the marine litter problem. So really it's the two activities go together, one informs the other, and the idea is to address marine litter around the island. Okay, great. Thank you for that explanation. So like we noted at the start, marine litter being a major environmental crisis, it affects the ecosystems and our natural resources around St. Lucia. And understanding, like you said, the sources of that marine litter is one of the major components or a good starting point like you indicated. So can you give us an idea of what was found in the preparation of the national source inventory? A number of very interesting things. Firstly, we are aware that all plastics, which is of data's concern in terms of marine litter is imported, whether in preforms that nine local companies use to produce consumer goods or in items imported directly that goes onto the shelves, containers with consumer products like shampoos and those types of things. And also in white goods or high-tech equipment, for example, or even in vehicles that have a longer life. So all plastics are imported. That's the first thing that we realize. The second thing is that 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources. So managing marine litter, for the most part, means managing waste generally, solid waste. The other 20% approximately comes from activities at sea, whether it's fishing or shipping, pleasure crafts, those types of things, operations of oil rigs, we don't have much of that in St. Lucia. We don't have any of that in St. Lucia. But the other 20% comes from there. But what makes the problem more difficult is that marine litter is a transboundary challenge. Not all the marine litter found in St. Lucia waters come from St. Lucia. And some of the marine litter that we generate may end up in coastlines far away from us. So it is also a transboundary problem. So the other important thing that came out of this study is that whereas the majority of the focus has to be on managing our own solid waste, which contributes 80% to the marine litter, there also has to be international cooperation to deal with the transboundary aspect of the problem. That is definitely something that we would prioritize, so we should prioritize then because it is very interesting to find or to note as you said, even though 80% is from land-based sources, we do have the sea-based sources to, I guess, put it simply. So thank you for highlighting those. And also I note that you highlighted also the fact that the plastics we have in St. Lucia, including the ones that end up in our marine spaces, are imported. So it is definitely a major challenge because you cannot completely or at least at the moment we cannot completely do away with all plastic imports. However, we have as a government, the government of St. Lucia has adopted a phased approach towards banning plastics in steps, selected plastics, and all Styrofoam products under the Styrofoam and Plastic Food Service Containers Prohibition Act of 2019. So under this act, we have, like I said, selected plastic products. For example, PET1, HTTP2, PS6, and EPS6, these plastic products are banned from being imported and all Styrofoam products are banned from being imported into St. Lucia, which would hopefully help to alleviate some of the issues of plastic pollution in our marine spaces that contributes to the marine litter that we've been seeing. So I'm happy that you highlighted also that the plastics are imported and so we are trying or taking steps towards reducing the amount of plastic being imported so that hopefully that will also address or reduce the amount of plastic ending up in the marine litter and overall reduce marine litter. I think that was really a good move by the St. Lucia government to pass that Styrofoam Prohibition Act. Different plastics take different amounts of time to enter the waste stream. I see you have on the poster there that water bottle. Items like that enter the waste stream very quickly after purchase. Within days, perhaps it enters the waste stream. You buy a bottle of water or a soft drink, you drink it and you get rid of it. Others like, let's say, cleaning products that come in plastic bottles. It may last six months, eight months. And other items like, let's say, computers or the video camera that has a lot of plastic. That will take years to enter the waste stream. So the timing of the entry into the waste stream is an important consideration. But what that act does is that it prohibits the importation, the use of single use items. And these are items that enter the waste stream very quickly. And once there is this prohibition, then one will assume that one of two things are happening. Either they are no longer being imported, or if they are being imported, they will be intercepted by customs and discarded because it's prohibited. And if something is prohibited, it cannot enter, should not enter the island. So one, whereas the study did not really look at the impact of the of the act as yet, one has to assume that there has been an immediate effect. And I think a look at the customs records can verify that. All right. Definitely. And that would be extremely interesting to note. And also it would be interesting to note whether this ban on those products has also led to change in behaviors. For example, people purchasing more biodegradable and compostable materials. So that we would assume that, you know, that is one of the effects as well. And I guess it's, it's, it also highlights the need for general public and stakeholder involvement in ensuring that things like the prohibition act and this ban on plastics are successful initiatives that achieve their outcomes. Because you, I guess we cannot just do everything as just a government. We need the cooperation of the people. We need the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards, the customs and excise department, the St. Lucia Manufacturers' Association, Chamber of Commerce. We need that wide range of stakeholders to make sure that these things, make sure that the objectives of this kind of action are fully realized. So yeah, I agree with that absolutely. And the reality is that all of us generate waste. Almost every human activity generates waste. So that whereas you mentioned a whole list of stakeholders there, we've got to broaden that net to include every person. Every person is a stakeholder in this. And how our relationship with waste and how we treat waste is at the center of the problem that we are trying to deal with. That is true. That is absolutely true. So we are hoping for that overall general community people and cooperation, those synergies to ensure that we are successful in these initiatives. And we're going to stick a pin in that for now because we are due for a break. Once again, you're watching TV30, a production of the Government Information Service. And we will be back shortly after this break. Of course not, Garcy. Plastics are very bad for our environment. Look at this river, for example. It was once home to a number of different animals. It can take hundreds or even thousands of years for plastic to break down. And even when they break down, they do not disappear. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastics. Microplastics can be harmful to animals and human health. Especially since they contaminate our water supply and we end up consuming them when we eat fish that have fed on these tiny bits of plastic. To make matters worse, they are extremely difficult to remove from the water body. You know, people throw all kinds of things in the bush, gutters and ravines that end up in the rivers and the sea. Not only plastic, but glass, metal, older appliances like stoves and even old cars. Out of sight, out of mind. Until the rains come and the gutters get blocked and the place floods, water in people's houses and shops and all over the road. We in the same class castle. I know all that. Tell me something I don't know. Ayuri, what's the MLMAP? It's the Marine Liter Management Action Plan. My mother works at the Department of Sustainable Development. She told me that the MLMAP is an action plan for Saint Lucia, which is meant to improve data, knowledge and evidence on the sources, pathways and impacts of plastic pollution and enhance understanding of the quantities and composition of marine litter and plastic pollution in Saint Lucia. Improve coordination and cooperation among people at all levels working to address plastic pollution and finally to improve unity between national policies on waste management, marine litter and plastic management and to get a better understanding of the opportunities they are to enhance teamwork when implementing marine litter and plastic reduction projects and activities. Oh, it sounds like we will all have to work together to make the plan work, not just the government but also business places, the vendors, the bus drivers, the school children. But wow, I really wanted to go for a river bath today. For more information, contact the Department of Sustainable Development, telephone 468-58-33. Welcome back to TV30, a production by the Government Information Service. We are discussing the National Source Inventory NSI and the Marine Litter Management Action Plan for Saint Lucia, which is under a project that's being supported by the United Nations Environmental Program, UNEP, in collaboration with the Department of Sustainable Development and the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority. So we, under this project, have engaged various stakeholders, like we were saying, stakeholder engagement and establishing those synergies. It's one of the major components of, you know, ensuring that this entire project and all these plans to address marine litter and Saint Lucia, making sure everyone is involved is one of the key points, the key features. And to that end, we've been engaging various persons in Saint Lucia various stakeholders through the technical consultation workshop, as well as the high-level events, which was held in July. And we have an upcoming stakeholder seminar in October. So between all these events under the project, we hopefully have a wide range of persons being engaged and being involved in this project, in this MLMAP development. And so I guess it would be probably a good point now to mention what are some of the key features and what would be some of the outcomes that we expect to get, you know, out of this MLMAP considering, you know, the involvement of all these various persons in the Saint Lucia society. Yeah, thanks for that. This whole process was very engaging. Of course, I work closely with Department of Sustainable Development and Solid Waste Management Authority to identify the key stakeholders. The technical consultation that we mentioned was really the first of the activities under this project. Where we brought the key players together, and I think there was more than 40 persons at that consultation, at which we went and discussed the problems that we were facing in terms of waste management and in particular marine litter and plastic pollution. And we spoke to the global nature of the problem, the fact that the UN environmental UNEP and the UNEA have flagged this as a major global problem since 2014 when the UN Environment Assembly had its first meeting. And throughout, they have been building on the initial recommendations. So all of this was presented at that meeting and there was a rich exchange of views among those participants on how we should go about developing the inventory and the action plan. Some very useful recommendations were made and resource materials were identified. That led to a period of research and follow-up. There were a number of one-on-one consultations and focus group consultations on various aspects of the two outcomes. And that led to the production of the first draft, of course, of the two documents. That was, as you said, presented at a high-level meeting where we had policymakers. I think there were six members of cabinet at that and several permanent secretaries and departmental heads where we presented the initial findings. And there was a rich exchange of views and a number of recommendations for changes. All of that was done and the documents are nearing completion now, the inventory and the action plan are nearing completion and there will now be a final seminar where the updated versions will be presenting to a wider cross-section and hopefully get some useful recommendations. So, Mr. Tulsi, tell us more about the key findings in your observations. What have you found, what stands out or is highlighted? Yeah. Firstly, if we talk about the sources of marine litter, I mentioned earlier about 80 percent comes from land-based sources. Litter and the primary source is from beach activities. People leave their debris on the beaches or near the beaches or maybe even in bags and their dogs get to them and they're blown by the wind into the sea. Then there is a lot of marine litter that comes from streams and rivers and drains that get washed into the ocean during high rainfall events. I'm sure most persons are aware of that. After high rainfall events, you see lots of debris, plastic bottles floating. And then there is illegal dumping along the coast. I could tell you, for example, that in Vivort, the landfill, well now it's a transfer point, is not far from the Mapati mangrove, but instead of people going to the landfill or the transfer point, they just drive into the mangrove and they dump their waste there. And that again during high rainfall events will end up into the sea. So at the end of the day, like I said, it is our how we as individuals, and I also mean companies, corporations, people in the construction sector, how we manage waste is directly related to the amount of marine litter that we contribute. And it's not only marine litter, it's litter generally. So that was one of the interesting things that we found out during the research. The other deals with the the trans-boundary nature of the problem. During the research phase, there's an island, an uninhabited island in the South Pacific, where a university in Australia went and did some research and coastal cleanup. And they did it annually and between two years, they collected 180 tons of plastic on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific. So that did not come from the island obviously. So it really highlights the nature of the problem. In the Caribbean, the University of Florida and UNEP did some studies and they found that on a typical Caribbean island and one kilometer of coast, you find 2,160 pieces of plastic. Globally, that figure is 517. So the Caribbean region is four times worse in terms of plastic pollution than the global average. So we have a serious problem in this part of the world, in terms of how we manage our plastics. There is some recovery and recycling, but it is not economical because the plastic is mixed with other waste. And so the the recycler has to collect the general waste and remove it. Initiatives like was done by Joe Cali and the OECS Replace Project helps because that collects the plastics and makes the recycling, recovering recycling more economical. But those are not sustained. So there's a need to look at that as well. And in thinking through this, how we deal with this and based on the recommendations that we got, there are five pillars as we call them on which the marine litter management action plan is built. The first is the policy and the regulatory framework. The Styrofoam prohibition act is an excellent example of how a law can change the dynamics. So it is recommending that a number of things be done, like there is the returnable containers bill, which I think is being modified by the Department of Sustainable Development, that can make a big difference. And there is also the whole question of waste from ships and that needs to be regulated. So the first pillar really looks at the policy and the regulatory framework that is in place to manage waste. And by managing waste, by extension manage marine litter, the other is waste minimization. What can we do to minimize the amount of waste that we generate? And the number of recommendations are made in terms of recovery and reuse of items. There is the whole question of waste segregation. If we could do that and minimize the amount of waste that goes to the landfill, because by segregating waste, you could then pull out the recyclables. Okay. So there's a whole waste minimization aspect to this. There is also stakeholder engagement. You mentioned stakeholders while we were talking about this. At the end of the day, everyone generates waste. Therefore, everyone is a stakeholder. Yeah. Yes. That's why things like the upcoming stakeholder seminar, which will take place on the 6th of October, these kinds of things are so important because it pulls together the CSOs, civil society organizations, different national, non-governmental organizations, agencies, government departments. It pulls everyone together to make sure that they can then take the messages that you will be presenting as the facilitator at that seminar. They can take those back to their departments, back to their organizations and to their communities, so that we can have that wide range and level of support all across St. Lucia. So definitely it is something, and Gladdy mentioned, one of the key pillars is that stakeholder engagement, which is one of the things we continuously want to tie in to this plan. Absolutely. And in terms of stakeholders, we must not forget international stakeholders, entities like UNEP, the IUCN, and a number of other intergovernmental organizations and also bilateral assistants with friendly governments. They are an important stakeholder in this. Yes. Thank you so much for all those contributions. I know you, I don't know if you want to go on and briefly mention the other two pillars. You've mentioned three so far, but we do unfortunately have to wrap up this conversation. So I'll just mention one quickly and it's behavioral change. Oh yes. And because at the end of the day, if individuals and organizations can change their behavior in terms of how they manage waste, then I think the problem will be solved. But unless that education component transitions into behavioral change, I think this problem will continue to persist. That is true. And that is something we would definitely like to address in this entire project at all points as we go through it. So thank you so much for highlighting those pillars and for all the information that you've shared about the NSI, about the MLMAP, the Marine Litter Management Action Plan. So thank you for all the work you've done as the project consultant. Mr. Tusi, you have been very dedicated to this cause and we at the department greatly appreciate it. So thank you. Thank you for this interview and thank you to the viewers for joining us on TV30, a production by the Government Information Service. I have been your host, Joanne Noville, Science and Technology Officer in the Department of Sustainable Development, joined by again Mr. Bishmal Tusi, the project consultant for this Marine Litter Management Action Plan project. Thank you for joining us and if anyone would like more information about the MLMAP, you can always contact the Department of Sustainable Development, reach out to us and look out for updates on social media and in the news. I guess with that we close off. Thank you to all.