Following the launch of the first-ever global survey of the public on waste in mountain areas earlier this year, the UIAA now extends a call for case studies on plastic waste in remote and mountainous areas, under the initiative of the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Secretariat). In cooperation with GRID-Arendal and funding from the Governments of France and Norway, the BRS Secretariat is implementing a project addressing the environmentally sound management of plastic waste in remote and mountainous areas. In this context, case studies are collected to inform future interventions and thus improve the management of plastic waste in those areas.
The BRS Secretariat is collecting examples of initiatives to monitor, collect, separate, transport, store, recycle and/or dispose plastic waste in remote and/or mountainous areas. Initiatives addressing municipal waste, including plastic waste, are also solicited. This includes approaches such as clean-ups, awareness-raising campaigns, installation of collection points, establishment of recycling infrastructure, extended producer responsibility, fiscal schemes, policy/regulatory instruments etc. These could be implemented by governments, the private sector, civil society, academia etc. The case studies will be used to learn from existing practices and inform future interventions targeting the environmentally sound management of plastic waste in remote and mountainous areas.
About the Basel Convention
Back in 2019, the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention adopted the Plastic Waste Amendments, making the Basel Convention the only global legally binding instrument that specifically addresses plastic waste. Aiming to strengthen capacity for the management of plastic waste, the BRS Secretariat is implementing the project “Plastic Waste in Remote and Mountainous Areas”. Often lacking the necessary infrastructure and resources, remote and mountainous areas are among the most affected by plastic waste. Tourism contributes significantly to increasing volumes of plastic waste in such areas.
Who can contribute
Any entity or individual with knowledge of concrete cases of initiatives to manage plastic waste in remote and/or mountainous areas is invited to contribute. Please submit your case study using the template below by 11 June 2021 to: jost.dittkrist@un.org with copy to lesya.nikolayeva@zoinet.org. Contributions will be duly acknowledged and/or can remain anonymous, as requested by the contributor.
For more information, please click here.
Main image: Waste collection from a UIAA Respect the Mountains event
