Ending Ocean Plastic Pollution: USAID’s Save Our Seas Initiative: Snapshots of Success One Year In

About this Event

In honor of World Oceans Day, USAID invites you to join us and our partners for a virtual event to reflect on what we’ve achieved one year after launching our $103 million Save Our Seas Initiative – a global effort to combat ocean plastic pollution that covers 14 countries and regions that represent 40 percent of total global mismanaged plastic waste. Moderated by Award-Winning National Geographic Senior Staff Writer Laura Parker, who covers climate change and marine environments, and with remarks by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI),  U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and USAID’s Chief Climate Officer Gillian Caldwell, the virtual event will spotlight USAID and its partners’ approach to addressing ocean plastic pollution and advancing circular economies—to contribute to the U.S. Government’s goal to eliminate plastic leakage into the environment by 2040. 

Ocean plastic pollution has reached crisis levels: every passing minute sees an entire garbage truck’s worth of plastic entering the world’s oceans—amounting to an alarming 11 million metric tons per year. This rate is expected to double by the end of this decade and triple by 2040. This deluge of plastic is threatening the world’s delicate marine ecosystems, global industries such as fishing and tourism, food security, and ultimately human health. USAID understands that it’s critical to stop plastic waste from entering the ocean in the first place – a significant challenge in many low-income countries, where nearly 90 percent of waste is openly dumped or burned. In fact, worldwide, one in four people – nearly two billion total – lack access to effective solid waste management systems. 

Join us on Thursday, June 8, 9:00 AM EST /  9:00 PM (UTC+8), Manila, Philippines to learn about the progress USAID’s Save our Seas Initiative has made toward ending ocean plastic pollution.

This virtual event will be delivered in English, with closed captioning available in Bahasa Indonesian, Filipino, Spanish, and Vietnamese. 

Featuring:

Moderator: Laura Parker, Senior Staff Writer, National Geographic 

Remarks:

  • The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse
  • The Honorable Dan Sullivan
  • Gillian Caldwell, Chief Climate Officer and Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID

Panelists: 

  • Rob Kaplan, Founder and CEO, Circulate Capital
  • Duong Nguyen, Development Advisor, Office of Climate Change, Energy and Environment, USAID Vietnam
  • Gunther Merzthal, Chief of Cabinet of Advisors, Ministry of Environment, Government of Peru
  • Angelita (Anj) Aguilos, Project Manager, Eco Waste Coalition, Women in Waste’s Economic Empowerment Activity grantee