Prevention of Marine Litter in the Lakshadweep Sea (PROMISE)
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Marine ecosystems continue to suffer from pollution. The vast majority of marine litter stems from land-based sources and enters marine ecosystems from human settlements along coastlines and river basins. The tourism industry is a key source of economic well-being in the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Southern India, but at the same time it is also one of the major contributors to marine litter. There is a pressing need to curb marine pollution in the pristine ecosystems of the Lakshadweep Sea shared by Maldives, Sri Lanka and India.
Reducing marine litter and improving livelihoods
In order to address this problem, the initiative “Prevention of Marine Litter in the Lakshadweep Sea”, short PROMISE, seeks to promote source-to-sea solutions to reduce marine littering in tourism clusters. At the same time, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises will be strengthened and the implementation of respective government mechanism will be supported. The goals are to reduce marine litter, and therewith also to enhance the attractiveness for tourists as well as to improve the (economic) well-being of the local people.
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How does adelphi support PROMISE?
Together with its project partners, adelphi works on reducing the amount of waste – especially single-use plastics – from the tourism sector and recycling or adequately disposing of the waste that cannot be prevented before it reaches the ocean. In order to do so, adelphi implements a wide range of activities. Material flow analysis and cost accounting help establishing a solid knowledge base for the status quo of marine littering in tourism clusters along Lakshadweep shorelines.
As part of this monitoring exercise, aerial drones will be used for data collection. The Resource Efficient Cleaner Production (RECP) approach and the Avoid. Intercept. Redesign. (AIR) scheme developed by Parley for the Oceans will support the implementation of zero-waste business operations in the tourism sector. Cross-national workshops will form the basis for the initiation of a zero-waste governance mechanism, where best practices in the sector will be recognized through zero-waste awards. Project activities will further improve the access to finance for implementing zero-waste measures in tourism clusters and their suppliers.
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Find further information on the PROMISE project, including policy briefs