Last week, I was honored to represent Project AWARE at two different, yet complimentary, fora where the ocean future was at the heart of international exchanges on solutions to the many challenges our ocean is facing.

World Ocean Summit 2015, held in Cascais, Portugal on June 4-5, brought together more than 350 governments, businesses, and civil society participants from across the globe. Over two days, under the theme “Blue Economy; Blue Growth”, we explored the opportunities, costs and trade-offs needed for the transformation from a conventional ocean economy to a new ocean-based economy that is socially and environmentally sustainable. The community shared practical and realistic solutions to the tension between the economic development and environmental sustainability of the ocean. These solutions include socially and environmentally responsible financing, full cost accounting of ocean uses and resources, and the need for policies that protect the ocean while fueling socio-economic prosperity, equitably across the world.

The Plasticity Forum that followed brought together global business leaders and experts to present innovative solutions to address the growing plastic pollution and marine litter problem. Under the theme "Designing for Circularity, Customer Engagement, Reverse Supply Chains and Reaching Scale", we looked at plastics from a variety of angles, including values, costs, opportunities, and future. Focused on upstream solutions, which prevent plastic pollution before impacting our communities or entering our waters, the Plasticity Forum reaffirmed two salient realizations:

• With 3 billion middle class consumers entering the market by 2030, we must manage plastics responsibly and efficiently from design through end of life. We’re already innovating in design, reuse, and recyclability. Now, we need replicability, scale, and system wide change.
• We must deal with how we produce and consume plastics as part of changing our entire economies – moving away from a linear economy in which we make, use and throwaway “stuff” to a circular one in which products are designed to be repaired, durable, recovered, and recycled into new products at the end of their life.

What does that mean to Project AWARE and you as divers?

Project AWARE brings the unique scuba divers’ perspective to international fora where solutions to ocean problems we focus on – prevention of marine debris and ending the overexploitation of sharks and rays - are being formed. And, you help us do so every time you Dive Against Debris and report your data, spread the word about the plight of sharks and rays, support us with funds or take action for a clean and healthy ocean.

As much as 250 million metric tons of plastic could make its way into the ocean by 2025 if we don’t put a stop to the Ugly Journey of Our Trash. Check out our new video and infographic on how our everyday litter travels from land to sea endangering marine ecosystems and wildlife along its way, and take action for a clean, healthy ocean. Rethink your use of plastic, reduce, reuse, recycle and don't let your dives go to waste: Dive Against Debris.

Plasticity Forum 2015

Photo courtesy of Artist Liina Klaus - Trash Land Art Exhibition, Plasticity Forum

Photo:Brian Skerry, National Geographic photographer and Project AWARE Patron at the World Oceans Summit 2015 Gala Dinner raising awareness of the plight of sharks