By Kebba A.F Touray
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, has elaborated on how the negative impacts plastic waste pollution can have on regional food security and public health of communities, and the break it can cause in the economic development of the ECOWAS Region.
Speaker Ibrahim made this statement on Tuesday, 30th July 2024, while delivering her opening statements at the ongoing delocalized meeting of the joint committee of the said parliament on agriculture, the environment, natural resources, energy, mining and infrastructure. The delocalized meeting which is underway in Accra, Ghana, commenced on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
Speaker Ibrahim said the menace of plastic waste in the region can be blamed on the lack of adequate infrastructure to collect, sort out and process plastic waste. She identified the lack of awareness among the people as one of the factors and warned that plastic waste pollution may have a significant impact on food security within the region. According to her, despite the efforts made at different levels by the authorities to combat the situation, ECOWAS “is still struggling to eradicate plastic waste from towns, the countryside and from the Oceans.’’
She said the scourge is an environmental threat and a brake on the economic development of the region. She added that the impact of plastic pollution on public health is also a cause for concern, with the increased risks of illness linked to pollution and contamination of water resources.
Speaker Ibrahim continued that at an international level, awareness of the many negative impacts of plastic waste on the environment and human and animal health has led the international community to institute a “World Plastic Bag Free Day” in 2010, which is celebrated every 3rd July. She stated that ECOWAS is aware of the urgency of the situation and has adopted a community policy for the management of plastic waste.
“This ambitious and necessary policy aims to promote the reduction, recycling, and recovery of plastic waste while ensuring the responsible management of non-recyclable waste,” she said.
She pointed out that at the national level, certain Member States like Togo, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, Gambia and Senegal have already adopted legislation to regulate the plastics sector, to effectively combat plastic pollution. She maintained that ECOWAS has also adopted a regulation on plastic products and the harmonization of environmentally sound management of plastic waste in ECOWAS member states. She said this will alleviate the difficulties experienced by member states in the effective implementation of the regulations already in place.
While describing West Africa as the cradle of vibrant cultures and exceptional natural resources, she expressed concern that the sub-region is confronted by a significant environmental challenge that threatens development and the collective well-being of the people through the proliferation of plastic waste.
“The impact of plastic pollution on our ecosystem is undeniable and poses a significant threat to our survival with alarming figures. ECOWAS generates around 17 million tons of plastic waste annually of which only 10 percent is recycled,” she said; stressing that the lack of proper management leads to an accumulation of plastic waste in the environment which in turn pollutes the oceans, rivers, and soils, threatening biodiversity, and said individual efforts are not enough. She said collective action and collaboration are needed to propose effective solutions for plastic waste management in the face of these challenges and to think deeply about innovative and sustainable solutions to this problem.
Speaker Ibrahim expressed her conviction that with the participants’ expertise, they will propose solutions that will enable them to meet current needs without compromising those of future generations. She called on the member states to invest massively in research and development and encourage technological innovation in the recycling and recovery of plastic waste; and the strengthening of capacities of local players in the responsible management of plastic waste. She called for the need to adapt the School curricula to include compulsory subjects on the fight against climate change in general, and plastic waste pollution in general, to better prepare them to adapt to these new challenges.
“The fight against plastic pollution is a shared one. It concerns environmental issues, social justice, and sustainable development. By joining forces, sharing experiences, and exploring innovative solutions, we can meet this challenge and build a more sustainable future for our region,” Speaker Ibrahim concludes.
