Clean Caribbean: Marine litter prevention for a cleaner Caribbean sea

Reducing marine litter: What are the actual challenges in Honduras and Guatemala?

The Caribbean Sea is characterized by a rich diversity of species, including numerous fish and coral species, sea turtles, sharks, mangroves and sea grasses. A network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) offers much-needed protection for coastal-marine biodiversity and ecosystems while also providing economic benefits by serving as tourism destinations. These unique coastal-marine ecosystems face multiple threats: Among them are overfishing, unregulated coastal development, sedimentation due to erosion from unsustainable land use and from agriculture, as well as climate threats linked to ocean warming and acidification. In addition, marine plastic litter is becoming an increasing threat.

The neighbouring Central American countries of Guatemala and Honduras share access to the Caribbean coast. Growing plastic pollution is a concern for both, as it impacts biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as economic development for agriculture and tourism. Also, floating plastic in waterways clogs up drainage systems, interferes with irrigation systems, obstructs access to clean water, riverbanks, and beaches, and is confused for food by marine wildlife. Plastic waste often originates inland and finds its way to ocean through several large rivers. The Motagua river alone carries waste from 63 cities, including Guatemala City, the country’s capital and largest city. Waste management systems are insufficient in both countries: More than 85% of plastic waste is burned or disposed of at unmanaged landfills, and recycling structures rarely exist. Current economic, political and regulatory structures to reduce plastic production and pollution, and to strengthen a circular plastic economy, are limited and hardly implemented, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations which could help to reduce plastic waste and to keep plastic in the loop.