NGOs call on EU Member States to set ambitious marine litter targets

Eighteen (18) environmental NGOs from across the EU, among which MIO-ECSDE, are today calling on EU Member States to increase their level of ambition and set firmer marine litter reduction targets with the aim of ending the marine litter problem within a generation.

The call is being made at the International Conference on Prevention and Management of Marine Litter in European Seas that starts today in Berlin and continues till the 12th of April.

EU Member States are required by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive to set targets for reducing marine litter, but most countries’ targets lack ambition, and only a few countries have proposed quantifiable and measurable reduction targets.

On Friday the 12th of April, NGOs will hand the ‘Marine Litter Manifesto for the European Seas’ to the European CommissionerJanez Potočnik and the German and Irish Ministers of Environment. In addition to supporting a 50% marine litter reduction target, EU Ministers are being asked to implement a range of measures and initiatives that would regulate marine litter and reduce amounts of litter reaching the marine environment from land-based and sea-based sources.

The Marine Litter Manifesto for the European Seas including the list of 18 signatories can be downloaded here.

Find more info on International Conference on Prevention and Management of Marine Litter in European Seas (Berlin, 10-12th April) here.