Led by the UK through the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and funded by the UK government through the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP) is supporting five countries across the Commonwealth to take action on plastics entering the oceans. Wilton Park, an agency of the FCO responsible for convening high-level international dialogues, is organising the CLiP policy events.
This national-level workshop offers an opportunity for decision makers to hear the outcomes of CLiP’s research in Belize and forms part of a process for consultation with a wide range of stakeholders as the Government of Belize develops its policy response to the challenge of marine litter. This workshop is being hosted in conjunction with the Belize Department of Environment.
CLiP forms part of the funding announced by the British Prime Minister during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Summit in April 2018. The programme is one strand of this Official Development Assistance (ODA) package and will complement additional activities, specifically those related to marine litter and waste management, by other UK government departments. Work streams will be co-ordinated to maximise outputs across the Commonwealth. CLiP supports the UK’s commitment to the UK and Vanuatu led Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, CCOA. It will contribute to the Commonwealth Blue Charter, which calls for Commonwealth countries to drive action and share expertise on issues affecting the world’s oceans, including marine litter.
