Save Our Seas Initiative Annual Report 2023-2024

The Save Our Seas Initiative focuses on reducing plastic leakage into the ocean by strengthening solid waste management systems and creating inclusive circular economies together with local and national governments, communities, and the private sector. The initiative draws on effective methods for reducing mismanaged waste in partner countries developed under USAID’s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean program. The Save Our Seas Initiative also leverages the expertise and relationships of our field missions to expand country-level and regional programs to scale these efforts and catalyze greater private sector, donor, and interagency funding and partnerships to crowd-in additional funding.

Save Our Seas Initiative programs focus on key island and coastal nations with the greatest potential to reduce mismanaged plastic waste polluting the environment. Through these key country partnerships, The Save Our Seas Initiative is scaling up efforts to prevent plastic from getting into the oceans. In its first year, the Save Our Seas Initiative launched country programs in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This year we launched new programs in India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ecuador, and the Dominican Re- public. These new programs enable USAID to work in more cities and with more partners to tackle difficult development problems that overlap with root causes of ocean plastic pollution.

In the second year of the Save Our Seas Initiative, USAID accelerated the creation of new country partnerships and programs to fight ocean plastics. USAID’s focus is on setting up and maintaining long-term relationships with country governments who are central partners in solving this global problem. USAID also focuses on joining forces with other actors, namely the private sector, to expand the effectiveness and reach of limited public sector resources.