The launch event of the “Closing the Caribbean Plastic Tap” project financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and carried out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was held in San José, Costa Rica. ) in coordination with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Environment Program (UNEP/CEP) and the Caribbean Blue Flag Consortium (BFCC).
The event was attended by the Italian Ambassador to Costa Rica, Alberto Colella, the Regional Director of IUCN, Úrsula Parrilla, and the Owner of the AICS Regional Office of San Salvador, Paolo Gallizioli. Also present were representatives of local institutions, European cooperations and international organizations.
«Due to its geographical position, Italy qualifies as a maritime nation. Through our cooperation, we make the knowledge and capabilities of the Italian system available to face the challenges that concern the seas at a global level. Today we present not only a project, but also the new Italian regional policy in the cooperation sector” with these words Ambassador Colella opened the event.
The project, financed by AICS for an amount of 2 million euros and lasting three years, has the objective of reducing the dispersion of plastic waste in the eastern Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
«Thanks to the generous support of the Italian Government, the Closing the Caribbean Plastic Tap project will allow us to progress in the implementation of effective and socially inclusive solutions to promote the circular economy and reduce plastic pollution in the Caribbean. In a region whose unparalleled natural wealth is gravely threatened by the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and whose prosperity depends heavily on the health of marine and coastal ecosystems, initiatives like this project are urgent and indispensable to pave the way for a collective commitment towards a more sustainable lifestyle” declared Úrsula Parrilla.
The project will focus in particular on the fishing and tourism sectors, which have the greatest polluting impact, aiming at the development of integrated and socially sustainable blue economy models. «With this initiative, AICS reaffirms its commitment to safeguarding marine and terrestrial environments, guaranteeing on the one hand ecological sustainability through the protection of natural resources, on the other socio-economic sustainability through the creation of job opportunities for local communities » added Paolo Gallizioli.
