Just as other biosphere reserves and protected areas, the Asterousia Biosphere Reserve
\nis increasingly being affected by marine litter, which is building up, threatening habitats
\nand species and inhibiting sustainable development. With the aim of improving the
\nmarine litter knowledge and evidence base in the biosphere reserve, MIO-ECSDE kick-
\nstarted this week the first community-based marine litter monitoring campaign.<\/p>\n
A set of six locations were successfully surveyed and 856 litter items were collected and
\nclassified, with the involvement of 115 local community members, including grassroot
\nNGO members, teachers and school children, researchers and citizens. The preliminary
\nresults show that half of the surveyed beaches exceeded the European beach litter
\nthreshold value of 20 items\/100m, by 8 to 14 times, signalling the need for action. The
\nmost frequently found items were food consumption and recreation related, while in
\nseveral locations many items were agriculture related.<\/p>\n
The marine litter campaign was well-received and well-appreciated by all participants
\nthat joined the MIO-ECSDE team at the beaches of Tris Ekklisies, Pahia Ammos, Dytikos
\n(Lentas), Psili Ammos (Platia Peramata), Kommos and Avrathias.<\/p>\n
Ms Gina Bily Kraft, Communication Officer of the Association of Volunteer Firefighters
\nand Environmental Protection of Asterousia stated: \u201cThe first field visit from the MIO-
\nECSDE team to the Lentas area filled my heart with joy. It was interesting, informative and
\nvaluable to experience first-hand the team\u2019s passion for protecting the Asterousia
\nBiosphere reserve \u2014 and its scientific method of collecting, examining, and coding marine
\nlitter. The community-based research approach was the perfect opportunity to involve
\nmore local residents and long-term visitors in the on-going, grassroots level work of taking
\nbetter care of this incredible part of the planet. Perhaps for me personally, the most
\nvaluable part of this project is its community-based aspect that gives \u201cnon-scientists\u201d of
\nalmost any age or ability, the chance to be involved in research activity that directly
\nimpacts the world they live in. It raises awareness while giving people a hands-on chance
\nto act positively and also see that working together to try and help solve a problem is also
\nlots of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Menelaos Lydakis, Civil Engineer and member of the local association of the Friends
\nof Tris Ekklisies said: \u201cWe warmly thank the MIO-ECSDE team that visited us at the Tris
\nEkklisies beach! The community-based beach litter campaign they organized is very
\nimportant for deepening our understanding on the amounts and sources of marine litter in
\nthe Asterousia Biospere Reserve. We think that this campaign will be a powerful tool for
\nraising the awareness of local communities and we look forward to the research results.\u201d<\/p>\n
The participatory science campaign implemented in the Asterousia Biosphere Reserve
\ndeployed a harmonized monitoring approach, following the \u201cGuidance Document on
\nMonitoring of Marine Litter in European Seas\u201d and the \u201cJoint List of Litter Categories for
\nMarine Macrolitter Monitoring\u201d developed by the Technical Group on Marine Litter of
\nthe Marine Strategy Framework Directive, a European Union legislation that aims to
\nprotect Europe\u00b4s seas and ensure its sustainable use.<\/p>\n
The campaign was implemented within the framework of the one-year-long project entitled
\n\u201cMonitoring marine litter and generating fit-for-purpose data through a participatory
\nscience approach in Asterousia Biosphere Reserve\u201d funded by UNESCO and the abrdn
\nCharitable Foundation. MIO-ECSDE together with the Local Management Committee of
\nAsterousia & Heraklion Development Agency, MEdIES, HCMR, the University of Crete and its
\nMuseum of Natural History seek to provide a concrete showcase of how community-based<\/p>\n
research can deliver the \u201cScience We Need for the Future We Want\u201d, within the context of
\nthe UN Ocean Science Decade and the Ocean Literacy Framework.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n