Senior Scientist, Plastic pollution

Description du marché

Afripac project seeks to strengthen global commitments to end plastic pollution, and improve national action plans and policies. In addition to effective participation in the dialogue for a Global Plastics Treaty, countries also will need to have the capacity to ensure the treaty obligations they sign to can be met nationally. The complexity of the plastics life cycle results in many countries requiring support to build capacity to formulate the requisite tools from a legal, regulatory and technical perspective. The UNEP PCA on Plastics Treaty and Land-based Pollution project supports the UNEP Global Programme of Action (UNEP/GPA) in preventing the degradation of the marine environment from land-based activities. UNEP/GPA facilitates the realization of the duty of States to preserve and protect the marine environment. It provides secretariat services for three global multi-stakeholder partnerships in the areas of wastewater, nutrients and plastic pollution and marine litter promoting a source-to-sea approach in close collaboration with the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans and other partners. This work is anchored in UNEP's Programme of Work through the project "Protecting the Marine Environment from Land-Based Pollution through Strengthened Coordination of Global Action. Marine contamination and pollution occur as a direct result of human activities on both land and in the marine environment. Instances of marine pollution require urgent attention as healthy and clean seas provide numerous ecosystem services (e.g. food, oxygen production, climate regulation), which are critical for our survival and wellbeing. Given the complex and interconnected nature of marine pollution, the integration of sustainability-focused agendas and circular economy principles and practices is essential for the development of effective mitigation actions that can reduce pollutant emissions and impacts. The implementation of processes and measures to reduce marine pollution will have both positive and negative consequences for numerous economic sectors (e.g. agriculture, fisheries, food and beverage industry, waste management, packaging industry, tourism, offshore energy) at multiple scales (local, national, regional and international), framing marine pollution as a considerable global socio-economic challenge that requires the active collaboration of multiple stakeholders, across a range of geographic areas. In this context, SOS-ZEROPOL2030 will co-design, co-produce, and co-deliver a stakeholder led European Seas zero pollution framework that provides practical guidance from ‘source to sea’ on how to address shortcomings in existing marine pollution management and governance approaches. The consultant is needed to serve in the capacity of Senior Scientist, with responsibilities that will see finalisation of our capacity building work on the negotiation of a new instrument on plastic pollution. The Senior Scientist will also continue serving on the co-design, co-production, and co-delivery of a stakeholder led European Seas zero pollution framework that provides practical guidance from ‘source to sea’ on how to address shortcomings in existing marine pollution management and governance approaches. The services of the Senior Scientist are further needed in developing new work and fund-raising for the same.

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