2013 - University College Cork

RESEARCH PROJECTS
40
Governance and Law
MARLISCO: MARINE LITTER IN EUROPE SEAS:
SOCIAL AWARENESS AND CO-RESPONSIBILITY
Research Centre/Department/School: CMRC
Start Year: 2012
End Year: 2015
Funding Body: FP7
Researchers: Jeremy Gault
Contact PI: Jeremy Gault (j.gault@ucc.ie)
Marine environments are central to human well-being, but they are also extensively threatened by
our activities. The MARLISCO project seeks to raise societal awareness of both the problems and
the potential solutions relating to marine litter, which has been identified as a key issue threatening
marine habitats worldwide. A major objective of MARLISCO is to understand and facilitate
societal engagement in order to inspire changes in attitudes and behaviour. In order to achieve
this the project will include industrial sectors, users of coastal and marine waters, waste management
sectors, Regional Sea Commissions and EU representatives, local municipalities, citizen
groups, school children and the general public. MARLISCO recognises the need for a concerted
approach to encourage co-responsibility through a joint dialogue between the many players. This
will be achieved by organising activities across 15 European countries, including national debates
in 12 of them, involving industry sectors, scientists and the public, a European video contest for
school students, educational activities targeting the younger generation together with exhibitions
to raise awareness among the wider public. MARLISCO will make use of innovative multimedia
approaches to reach the widest possible audience, in the most effective manner.
The project will develop and evaluate an approach that can be used to address the problems associated
with marine litter and which can also be applied more widely to other societal challenges
where there are substantial benefits to be achieved through better integration among researchers,
stakeholders and society.
Litter in intertidal zone
at Cork Harbour beach