Context
Litter in the oceans is threatening marine wildlife and habitats and human health. Most waste enters the oceans via rivers. The reason for this is rising demand and use of plastic worldwide, inadequate waste management in many developing and emerging-market countries, and the increasing export of plastic waste from industrialised nations to those countries.
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) is the lead agency in Germany’s effort to combat marine litter. One of the tools it uses to do this is the Marine Debris Framework – Regional hubs around the globe (Marine:DeFRAG) programme.
Objective
Partner organisations in developing and emerging-market countries are implementing effective strategies to manage plastic and prevent litter. In this way, they are positioning themselves in international processes such as the negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty.
Approach
The project advises BMUKN and provides expertise for the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, along with the latest country-specific information. Based on that, it develops waste management strategies – including how to avoid, re-use, recycle and dispose of waste and how to tackle marine litter.
At the same time, the project supports partner organisations in relevant regions in developing such strategies. To this end, it carries out webinars and workshops and invites civil society, the private sector and state governments to participate. Together with the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), the project supports the fight against plastic in the Nile: it trains experts in monitoring plastic waste and develops a regional action plan with the NBI.
The project makes every effort to ensure equality in all its activities.
Current as of October 2025