#BEMEDISLANDS COMMUNITY, A NEW COMMUNITY TO JOIN FORCES FOR MEDITERRANEAN PLASTIC-FREE ISLANDS

With plenty of ongoing initiatives on plastics in the Mediterranean, collaboration and joint actions are key for success. In this sense, the #BeMedIslands community was born to capitalise the efforts of the actions and projects supported by Beyond Plastic Med (BeMed) organisation in the region.

The community, which gathers BeMed project beneficiaries across Mediterranean islands, is animated by SCP/RAC and SMILO (Small Islands Organisation) within the BeMed-Islands capitalisation process. In fact, this is a key element to promote harmonized approaches, build synergies across projects and mainstream their messages and lessons learnt.

To this aim, six thematic workshops are taking place (from September to November) to address key shared topics such as plastic waste management, marine litter monitoring, sound alternatives to single-use plastic products and regulatory measures. In these meetings, guest speakers as well as beneficiaries share knowledge and lessons learnt, and hence they are a perfect occasion for collaboration and networking. In these sessions, we could hear the experience of AJEM  (Association Jlij pour l'Environnement Marin) in collecting plastic waste at source in Djerba Island (Tunisia). Another example is the clean ups and data collection being organized by RAF (the Royal Albanian Foundation)  in ten Albanian islands. Guests speakers include renowned organisations such as Surfrider Europe.

The marine litter monitoring and data collection framework, as key element for the Barcelona Convention Mediterranean policies has been presented to the community by Mr. Christos Ioakeimidis (UNEP/MAP - MedPOL) on the occasion of the third technical session on “Marine litter monitoring in islands”.

The BeMed-Islands capitalisation process is implemented by SCP/RAC and SMILO, and funded by Beyond Plastic Med organisation. The process entails transfer and mainstreaming activities as well, stay tuned! And register to the mailing list to receive further information.