ASEM Marine Debris Meeting, August 3rd, 2018, Bangkok, Thailand The Fishing for Litter Programme and Green Deal approach as successful examples of engaging civil society to prevent and combat marine Litter ASEM Marine Debris Meeting, August 3rd, 2018, Bangkok, Thailand Mike Mannaart Executive Secretary Dutch-Belgian KIMO Network & International Liaison Officer KIMO (Municipalities for Sustainable Seas) (mmannaart@odijmond.nl)

Our organisation was founded in Esbjerg, Denmark, in 1990 by four local authorities with a shared concern for the state of the marine environment and the desire to act together to do something about it Over 70 members representing 160 local authorities and organisations in 8 countries – that’s around 7 million citizens Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Sweden, U.K. (Norway coming up)

How to address Marine Litter? While including: Coastal Municipalities & the National Government (Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management) Fishermen & Fisheries platforms Ports Waste Collection & Processing Industry This resulted in: Fishing for Litter Scheme (2001) Green Deal Fishing for a Clean Sea (2014)

From local to the international level: KIMO’s Fishing for Litter scheme Fishermen collect marine litter caught in nets during normal fishing activity The litter is landed in ports, stored, removed and disposed of by the port authorities Participation is voluntary and free of charge! Started in 2001-2 with 10 ships in the port of Den Helder, the Netherlands Nowadays: >8 countries, 60 ports, 500 vessels, 4500+ tonnes of marine litter removed The initiative is now included as measure in: OSPAR’s Regional Action Plan & EU’s draft Port Reception Facility Directive

Organisational requirements Positive attitude with the fisheries communities Fishermen that participate Support from fisheries ports for storage of the waste Waste processors who want to transport and process the waste Project coordinator/fund raiser Sufficient funding

Actions needed to Fish for Litter: Fishermen Collection & transport Waste processing Co-ordination & fundraising Port Reception Transport

communication Economic Legal A broader approach to address fisheries related waste management, the Dutch “Green Deal Approach” Three main groups of (traditional) policy instruments: communication Economic Legal National governments often define legislation, impose regulations or allocate funds for subsidies to address environmental issues. Another option is to make use of the positive energy and initiatives in society. This involves a combination of the 3 policy instruments

How to engage society: the “Green Deal Approach” An environmental network management approach could be applied: Engage the stakeholders who are either responsible for the environmental Pressure or could help prevent or cure this, thus making them part of the Environmental Policy Cycle process This is applied in the Netherlands, the so called “Green Deal Approach”.

How to engage society: the “Green Deal Approach” Characteristics: An essential aspect of this approach is that there is a shared ownership. The stakeholders are the “owners” of the initiative and therefore responsible for its outcome. A small group of frontrunners can create a transition in society, of which awareness and the will to take responsibility are key elements.

How to engage society: the “Green Deal Approach” About 180 Green Deals have been launched in the Netherlands so far 3 Green Deals address the marine environment: Green Deal Clean Beaches (KIMO is its secretariat) Green Deal Ship Generated Waste Green Deal Fishing for a Clean Sea (KIMO is its secretariat, strong linkage to the Fishing for Litter scheme & its infrastructure)

How to engage society : the “Green Deal Approach” Regarding the organisational framework the structures that are applied to the Green Deals include: a secretariat to guide the process, a steering committee made up of the stakeholder groups the group of stakeholders itself the national government to solve legal obstacles when needed.

Official commitment of the partners

How to engage society : the “Green Deal Approach” The methodological framework and its supervision include: an accepted agreement in which common objectives are defined. planned meetings and events. the interaction and progress should be monitored and observed Stakeholders need both to be informed and able to discuss their views in the meetings. The stakeholder group itself has to take decisions. There should be room for launching project proposals.

New members are important

How to engage society: the “Green Deal Approach” Some results: Improved collection of fisheries related wastes in ports like: waste nets, dolly rope, galley waste, oily wastes and waste passively collected during fisheries activities (aka “Fishing for Litter waste”).

Pilot Projects

How to engage society: the “Green Deal Approach” Results concluded: Stakeholders meet on a regular basis, develop new approaches and business models hence mutual trust increases. The participating stakeholders always look for ways to find an answer to the challenges that are met during the process. It leads both to the implementation of environmental measures and solving legal barriers when needed. The Green Deal concept, leads to enthusiastic response and activation of the stakeholders, thus creating support for this kind of environmental policy.

Questions & remarks? The floor is yours!

www.kimointernational.org info@kimo.shetland.org Our work has just begun. Be part of making a difference to our marine environment and join us. www.kimointernational.org info@kimo.shetland.org