The LIBERA Project, by SEO/BirdLife in alliance with Ecoembes, presents the eighth edition of ‘1m2 for the beaches and the seas’, the citizen mobilization campaign to collect and characterize the garbage of 315 points from Spain. The objective of this initiative, which is organized from September 21 to October 6, is to understand the impact of garbage on natural spaces, in this case in the marine environment, as well as to free them from this abandoned waste.
Volunteers from different organizations, entities and associations will come together to identify and analyze the garbage collected in the different locations chosen along the Spanish coast and on the seabed. The objective of the result of these citizen science campaigns is to raise awareness about this problem, to also reflect on the current production and consumption model and the amount of waste that is generated. Likewise, they allow information to be obtained so that effective strategies can be created that can efficiently address this environmental challenge.
Among the 315 points where the actions will be organized, the Malagueta beach (Málaga), Mourisca beach (Pontevedra), Patacona de Alboraya beach (Valencia), Cala Fría beach (Murcia) stand out, among others. ), El Burrero beach (Las Palmas) or Figueretas beach (Ibiza).
This eighth edition of ‘1m2 for the beaches and the seas’ will feature the participation of collaborating organizations such as Oceánidas or Mater. In addition to other groups such as the Spanish Red Cross, the Man and Territory Association, the Terramare Association, ADESP, Alnitak, the Murcia Clean Region Association or ANSE.
The use of the MARNOBA app, designed by the Zero Discharge Association and KAI Marine Services, will allow, as in each edition, volunteers to categorize the waste found. At the end of the campaign, this data will be added to the more than 2 million objects registered by LIBERA since 2017 in the ‘Garbage Barometer’, and will be entered into the database of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain (MITECO).
In the last campaign, 3.6 tons of garbage were recorded from the Spanish coasts thanks to the participation of almost five thousand volunteers. From this amount, 77,605 waste were characterized, with cigarette butts, small plastic pieces and lids and plugs being the most found objects in 2023.
«One more year, we call for action to raise awareness and reflect on the consequences of our production and consumption model. Nature receives thousands and thousands of waste, generating a negative impact on the health of ecosystems. Specifically, as a UN report indicates, plastic represents 85% of the waste that reaches the oceans and warns that, by 2040, the volumes of this material that will flow into the sea will almost triple, with an annual amount of between 23 and 37 million tons. This means that all marine species, from plankton and mollusks, to birds, turtles and mammals, face risks of poisoning, behavioral disorders, starvation and suffocation. We need society to become aware and for policies to accompany this urgent change,” says Alberto Remacha, coordinator of the LIBERA Project at SEO/BirdLife.
«The eighth edition of the “1m2 for beaches and seas” campaign is essential to continue facing the growing threat that litter represents in our ecosystems. For this reason, at LIBERA we must continue promoting and strengthening the collaboration of all communities in the search for solutions to this serious problem. A problem that, beyond the visual impact, has serious consequences on water pollution and the health of marine and terrestrial fauna,” says Sara Güemes, coordinator of the LIBERA Project at Ecoembes.
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