On the basis of a literature review, this study examines the interactions between climate change and marine litter, and the compounding global risks to biodiversity and society. The paper highlights that at the global scale, principles and approaches of treaties and conventions for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity can assist in understanding the cumulative impacts of marine litter and climate change, thereby improving marine ecosystem resilience. Climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as marine litter reduction, can also be developed and implemented by countries in order to deal with the threats posed by marine litter and climate change. In order to implement effective actions, resilience frameworks that incorporate both climate change and marine litter need to be developed. When climate change is integrated with other local stressors, ecosystem resilience approaches offer a suitable framework for incorporating the consideration of marine litter as a risk and for steering, coordinating, prioritizing research and monitoring, policy, and planning in order to effectively address the combined risks and impacts of climate change and marine litter.
This paper characterizes the fungal and bacterial colonizers of 5 types of plastic films (High-Density Polyethylene, Low-Density Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polystyrene, and Polyethylene Terephthalate) throughout a 242-day incubation in the south-eastern Mediterranean and relates them to the chemical changes observed on the surface of the samples via ATR-FTIR. Neither bacterial nor fungal community structures were related[…]
This paper provides insights into the sustainable alternatives that can replace conventional plastic mulches, such as biodegradable mulches made from natural fibers and biopolymers. The microscopic and FTIR analyses conducted during the study showed the degradation of the fibers from the mulches during the exposure time to a certain extent. The nonwoven mulches provide higher[…]
This paper investigates the degradation of biodegradable polybutylene adipate terephthalate/polylactic acid (PBAT/PLA) and traditional polyethylene (PE) plastic under two typical abiotic conditions: ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and mechanical abrasion (MA) for up to nine months. The quantitative analysis of the degradation products was carried out using membrane filtration and total organic carbon determination (MF-TOCD). The results[…]
This paper identifies technological innovation, policy formulation, advocacy and sensitization, and bioremediation as some of the approaches that are currently used for the mitigation of plastic pollution in Nigeria. This chapter also highlights the need to encourage, enhance, and disseminate scientific research on mitigating the harmful effects of plastic pollution in Nigeria. It concluded with[…]
This review provides insights into the sources of microplastics, the ecotoxicity of microplastics, and the impact microplastics have on aquatic and marine life, management, and bioremediation of microplastics. Policies and strategies adopted by the government to combat microplastic pollution are also discussed in this review. Microplastics tend to accumulate in many aquatic systems, contaminate them,[…]