Introduction to Plastic Pollution Hotspotting Assessments

About this course

As the world faces a plastic pollution crisis, this course teaches you about the “UNEP/IUCN National Guidance for Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action”. This is a comprehensive methodology to aid countries, regions, and cities in discerning the types, locations, and causes of plastic leakage into the environment. This leakage contributes to pollution in rivers, the ocean, and on land.

You will learn why conducting plastic pollution assessments is essential for understanding the scope of the problem, guiding policy decisions, and protecting the environment and public health.

Course details

Who should attend this course?

• Professionals who are interested in acquiring foundational knowledge on plastic pollution hotspotting assessments.
• Professionals who want to develop interventions that address the plastic pollution problem in their country.
• Primary users of such knowledge are governments, within enabler, coordinator and technical teams to drive positive change with these assessments.

Why should you take this course?

1. To understand that there are tools to measure and address plastic pollution, offering proactive solutions.
2. To gain an overview of a ground-breaking, effective solution for understanding, measuring and addressing plastic pollution.
3. To equip yourself with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute effectively to solving this urgent global challenge.
4. To be able to assess the impact of plastic leakage across the entire plastic value chain and learn how to prioritise actions to curtail plastic leakage.

What will you learn?

1. The purpose and the structure of the UNEP/IUCN National Guidance for Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action
2. How to use the Guidance various components: the Tutorial, the Modules, and the Tools (with the support of the Tutorial and the six videos) to conduct a complete plastic pollution assessment in the context of your country or region.
3. A step-by-step approach of the Guidance to generate a data-informed overview of plastic pollution specific to your country or region. 
4. To Implement the resulting overview and support developing a plan of action encompassing both policy initiatives and physical interventions. 

For a successful completion, participants must:

• Read all modules and activities
• Take the quizzes successfully
• Fill out the course surveys

Who is leading this course?

This course is developed by IUCN experts on plastic pollution in consultations with the UNEP colleagues who developed the UNEP-IUCN National Guidance on Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action.

Trainers:

Lynn Sorrentino, MSc – Marine Programme Officer at IUCN