Objectifs scientifiques et projet de recherche

The scientific community addressing the theme of plastic pollution in the environment is growing worldwide. However, the developing countries, pointed out as emitting the most plastic to the ocean, are still under studied and the plastic pollution poorly understood. The lack of facilities and technical support to develop adapted methodologies or the lack of national and regional coordination among the different stakeholders can explain this difference. The IRD scientific research community, gathering French and foreign research teams from global South can tackle this gap and promote a scientific approach adapted to the South. Last March, the ‘Plastique@IRD’ webinar aimed to share the different projects conducted by IRD and associated UMR on the theme “Plastic pollution in the ocean”, to put into contact the researchers and to identify the future key issues to address. Interestingly, most technical and methodological challenges were pointed out not at the ocean compartment, but at the cities to coast continuum and interfaces. In fact, the protocols recommended by renowned and influential expert commissions and regional programs, such as GESAMP, CSIRO, REACH, NOAA, are not adapted to the monitoring of the plastic pollution in the Land to Ocean continuum of the global South, in terms of conceptual and practical approaches and of data availability required. In the meantime, the JEAI PLASTIC and the FSPI COMPOSE (from the combination of JEAI RECYC’Urbs Viet and JEAI PLASTIC) in Viet Nam developed methodologies adapted to the country facilities to study the microplastic transfer in different aquatic environment (river, lake, estuary, lagoon, coast, atmospheric fallout, waste water treatment plants) and the informal plastic waste management system. The end of those two projects in 2021 brings the will of involved Vietnamese researchers to construct a scientific community at the national level and at the IRD’s planet level to continue to progress on methodological issues, to capitalize on past experience and to transfer it within the community targeting plastic at the cities to coast continuum in intertropical littoral regions. Therefore, in this context, a group of IRD and foreign researchers from different disciplines, UMRs, departments and countries from Global South suggest to develop an International Scientific Coordination Network (GDRI) called PASSPORT 2C (Protocols Adapted to the South for Studying the Plastic Origins and River Transfers (from the Cities to the Coast)). Its focus will be on the transfer of plastics (micro and macro) on the Land to Ocean Continuum, with a special attention to the City to Coast component in the intertropical zones, including rivers, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons. PASSPORT 2C will address key issues to promote interdisciplinary approaches and exchange and to facilitate their transfer and further comparisons between worksites. Examples of key issues that will gather the community are: (i) development of sober, virtuous, robust, sustainable protocols to measure plastic in complex water matrix (WWTP, turbid waters), sediment and biota ; (ii) plastic flux estimation at the land sea interface: where, how often, how long and how to measure and how to model numerically the complex transfer pathways to the oceans; (iii) participatory monitoring to collect data on both snapshot and long term basis. PASSPORT 2C aims at sharing the methodologies developed in the South and the capitalization and transfer of our respective experiences in a world where travelling is difficult and where new ways of working to continue our actions must emerge.

Unités IRD impliquées

• Département Océans, climat et ressources (OCEANS)
• MIO
• ENTROPIE
• LEGOS
• LOPS
• MARBEC
• Département sociétés et mondialisation (SOC)
• PALOC
• SENS
• UMMISCO

Institutions membres

IRD : Institut de recherche pour le développement

Ba Ria Vung Tau University - Viet Nam

CRO : Centre de recherches océanologiques

CNRS : Centre national de la recherche scientifique - France

CNRE : Centre national de recherche sur l'environnement - Madagascar

HAU : Hanoi Architectural University

HCMUT : Hô-Chi-Minh-City University of Technology

MNHN : Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

Sorbonne université

UEM : Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

UCAD : Université Cheikh Anta Diop

UM : Université de Montpellier

UGB : Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis

UNA : Université Nangui Abrogoua

USTH : University of Science and Technology of Hanoi

VAST : Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology

Objectif(s) du développement durable ciblé(s)

ODD06 - EAU PROPRE ET ASSAINISSEMENT

ODD11 - VILLES ET COMMUNAUTES DURABLES

ODD14 - VIE AQUATIQUE