According to the 2018 Ocean Conservancy Report, roughly two million cigarette butts, 1.7 million food wrappers, and 1.5 million plastic bottles were cleared from beaches worldwide that year. These are just some examples of the kinds of pollution that reach the seas and shores, posing a mounting problem in Brazil and abroad.

It’s no different in São Paulo. Demographic growth along the coasts oscillates between 2% and 6% per annum, generating more waste discarded into the ocean. Other factors collaborating toward this increase are growing industrial and commercial activities in coastal regions.

To tackle the problem of marine garbage in São Paulo, FUNBIO joined forces with the Norwegian Embassy on the project “Building knowledge to combat marine litter in São Paulo State: marine litter monitoring and assessment plan in São Paulo, Brazil”. The initiative’s executors are the University of São Paulo’s Oceanographic and Advanced Studies institutes.

The project’s aim is to structure a knowledge base on the theme to help redress the problem of marine litter and to support the establishment of an integrated data production and information sharing process. It also pools the efforts of decision-makers, NGOs, the private sector and academia to create collective learning opportunities.