The project's partner entities presented the results of the work that has been developed around the identification, monitoring and management of plastic waste, having also established commitments for community management, including adherence to the Informal Certification Seal.
On the afternoon of June 23, the Cultural and Congress Center of Porto Santo hosted an event dedicated to the project "Porto Santo Sem Lixo Marinho" (Porto Santo Without Marine Waste), promoted by Associação Natureza Portugal, in partnership with WWF Portugal, AIDGLOBAL - Acção e Integração para o Desenvolvimento Global (AIDGLOBAL – Action and Integration for Global Development), Águas e Resíduos da Madeira, S.A., the Câmara Municipal do Porto Santo (Porto Santo City Council) and the hub of MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre in Madeira, hosted by Arditi.
During the initiative, a generic presentation of the project that intends to stop the leakage of plastic to the oceans was made, and the results that illustrate the work of identifying plastic waste, especially over the last year, were presented. The issue of marine litter in the Madeira archipelago, its monitoring and issues associated with the management of plastic waste on the island of Porto Santo were some of the themes highlighted in the first panel of the event, which featured an Opening Session in the voices of the Mayor of Porto Santo, the Norwegian Ambassador to Portugal and the Regional Secretary for Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change.
In the second panel of the event, the highlight was the presentation of the seal "Porto Santo Sem Lixo Marinho" (Porto Santo Without Marine Waste) and the communication campaign focused on raising the awareness of visitors and residents about the impact that disposable plastics can have on marine fauna. The closing of this second table was marked by the presentation of the commitment of the Municipality of Porto Santo and the formalization of the delivery of the seal to some of the participating establishments, present at the ceremony. So far, 29 companies have signed these letters of commitment, thus contributing to the project's objectives, which are, in fact, fully aligned with the European Union (EU) directive against disposable plastic - an approved measure by all Member States, for about two years, and which seeks to ensure a “quantitatively measurable reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic products” in the EU, by 2026, and which will come into force as early as next July.
For the President of AIDGLOBAL, Susana Damasceno, “the Porto Santo Sem Lixo Marinho (Porto Santo Without MarineWaste) project responds to a problem that already existed, that still exists and that has been worsening, namely in the context of the pandemic, with the incorrect disposal of masks of individual protection. The meeting on the 23rd represented a step in the consolidation of commitments for community management, which wants not only to stop the leakage of disposable plastic to the oceans but also to raise awareness and involve citizens, so that they too can be part of the change that should be promoted and implemented. The project itself contains the necessary pillars so that it is possible to leverage the construction of this change, but its effective local development will require a social and environmental transformation, which cannot be dissociated from the promotion and development of active citizenship and participation”.
Although the event on the 23rd was an opportune occasion to promote adherence to the Informal Certification Seal by companies that expressed interest in signing this commitment, adherence can be made outside the event and at any other time, throughout of the year 2021, through a prior request to the Porto Santo City Council (Rubina Brito: rubinabrito@cm-portosanto.pt).
“Porto Santo Sem Lixo Marinho” (Porto Santo Without Marine Waste) is a project co-financed by the Environment Program of the EEA Grants and promoted by Associação Natureza Portugal, in partnership with WWF Portugal, AIDGLOBAL, ARM – Águas e Resíduos da Madeira, S.A., Câmara Municipal do Porto Santo (Porto Santo City Council) and the hub of MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre in Madeira, hosted by Arditi. It also has the support of WWF Norway and the Secretariat for Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change of the Regional Government of Madeira.
AIDGLOBAL – Acção e Integração para o Desenvolvimento Global (AIDGLOBAL – Action and Integration for Global Development) – is a non-profit Non-Governmental Organization for Development (NGDO), which develops and promotes several projects in the field of Education for Development and Active Citizenship, in Portugal, including in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, where it has a delegation in Porto Santo and, in the field of Literacy, in Mozambique, in the Province of Gaza. Its Mission aims to Act, Include and Develop through Education, because it believes that Change happens through Education.
