Towards the Global Treaty on Plastic from the coastal areas perspective: the Ocean Cities Network (OC-NET) addressing the global plastic crisis

The policy brief Ocean Cities Network (OC-NET) contributes to effectively addressing the global plastic crisis towards the Global Treaty on Plastic from the coastal areas perspective as an initiative of the OC-NET policy working group.

The policy brief is contributing to effectively addressing the global plastic crisis towards the Global Plastics Treaty  from the coastal areas perspective as an initiative of the policy working group of the Ocean Cities Network (OC-NET).  OC-NET is a 10 years programme under the Ocean Decade connecting coastal areas’ stakeholders for a sustainable evidence-based governance for the ocean cities of the future. The programme englobes three working group areas:

●    HEALTH - Research in the coastal systems under the global health approach.

●     CULTURE - Marine culture and territory, enhancing ocean literacy and TEK.

●  POLICY - Social justice for the ecological transition, promoting a fair and inclusive transition by means of science-based policy.

The poster started from a previous document, the “Ocean Cities towards the Global Treaty on Plastic Manifesto” discussed in Sevilla (Spain), 2022 during the Marlice Forum. This contribution aims to bring to the community of the Ocean Decade a proposal of recommendations related with the Global Treaty on Plastic discussed in 3 Intergovernmental Negotiating Committees (INC) to reach a consensual agreement by the end of 2024. The poster opens up the discussion about the role of science and the coastal community concerning solutions for the legally binding instrument that will be shaped. During the Marlice Forum 2022[1], a session about the “Ocean Cities towards the Global Treaty on Plastic Manifesto'' was proposed. Following up with the manifesto, the present contribution would like to continue a dialogue on knowledge about requirements for the urban coastal cities and the scientific community by means of this policy brief, which will open discussion in several fora at a local level as well as at the next 2025 UN Ocean Conference in France.