Welcome to this course on beach macro-litter monitoring. The course was developed by SST in partnership with GRID-Arendal, a non-profit environmental communications centre.
Africa is the second most polluted continent globally. Unfortunately, limited information on the state of (plastic) pollution and litter in African countries exists, making the collection of litter data vital to understanding the causes of and stopping plastic pollution. SST and GRID-Arendal recognise the increasingly valuable role citizen scientists can play in this area. This course is designed to provide learners with the tools to conduct beach macro-litter surveys and set up beach litter monitoring programmes. The methods are designed to be comparable with different monitoring techniques used around the world, making it possible to reference and compare international datasets.
The resulting figures will be used to measure periodic changes and provide insight into the effectiveness of the measures applied to mitigate marine litter. The data can, for example, be used to track progress towards the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. Overall, the methodology taught in this course will allow learners to contribute to global marine litter reforms.
The course includes downloadable links to datasheets, visual guides, sizing charts, and more. It also includes a glossary of direct links for technical and discipline-specific terminology.
