Webinar for the Blue Bioeconomy by the BlueMed Initiative

1/9/2020

The BlueMed Initiative, within the e-training course for "Understanding and acting for a healthy plastic-free Mediterranean Sea", organised a webinar for “The Blue Bio-economy” presented by Dr. Fabio Fava, Italian representative at the BlueMed Initiative and Full Professor at the University of Bologna in Italy.

Dr. Fabio Fava presented the BIOCLEAN Project: new biotechnological approaches for biodegrading, and promoting the environmental biotransformation of synthetic polymeric materials, which deals with developing innovative, eco-friendly, sustainable solutions for biodegrading plastics and mitigating marine litter, aiming at a healthier and more productive Mediterranean Sea.

The geomorphology of the area (close basin), the increased marine traffic, the geopolitical location, and the developed marine and coastal tourism in the Mediterranean Sea are some of the reasons why the Mediterranean Sea is the most affected area, in terms of marine litter, worldwide. Therefore, new innovative methods for degrading fossil plastics are required. BIOCLEAN results show that there is room for new knowledge and innovation in plastic waste and marine litter reduction management. In conclusion, EU marine litter can be reduced by adopting plastic waste recovery and reuse plans, supporting a gradual introduction of biodegradable (bio) plastics into the market.

Moreover, the BlueMed Initiative was also presented at the webinar. BlueMed was adopted by the EU member states of the Mediterranean Sea (MED) in 2014 to foster sustainable blue growth in the area. Considering that the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most plastic-polluted seas worldwide, Blue Med countries adopted a pilot plan for a plastic-free, healthy Mediterranean Sea with joint actions. Pilot plan’s main achievements were the creation of country hubs with national marine litter mitigation and prevention actions/initiatives, the analysis of the main strengths, weaknesses and complementarities of the national hubs and their interconnection via a digital platform, as well as the Co-design of the portfolio of inter-country multi-stakeholders and multilevel actions, also via joint workshops.

Watch the video here.