For the better part of the last month the Flipflopi, a boat cobbled together from recycled plastic, has been circumnavigating Africa’s biggest lake, braving high winds and torrential rain to shine a light on pollution.

Last week, that journey came to an end as the 10-metre long vessel pulled into Mwanza, Tanzania, the last stop on a three-country, 850-kilometre voyage across Lake Victoria.

Nairobi/Kampala, June 25, 2021 - Uganda has today joined the Clean Seas Campaign, demonstrating the country’s commitment to curbing the flow of marine litter and plastic waste entering lakes, rivers, and the ocean.

Originally published in July 2021, this story has been updated to include the latest facts, figures and references. 

It's visible in satellite images from just off Sri Lanka's coast: a thin grey film that snakes three kilometres out to sea before disappearing into the waves.

Marker buoys have been deployed around the periphery of X-Press Pearl to create a 50-meter safe zone around the wreck.

• The Shurmann family’s expedition, Voice of the Oceans, departed from Balneário Camboriú, Brazil, on 29 August.
• The expedition, supported by UNEP, will focus on documenting and finding solutions to the invasion of plastics chocking marine ecosystems.
• The family will sail through the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Southern Pacific Ocean.

Brasília, 29 August 2021- Brazil’s seafaring S

Nairobi, 21 October 2021 – A drastic reduction in unnecessary, avoidable and problematic plastic is crucial to addressing the global pollution crisis, according to a comprehensive assessment released today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

At the intersection of greater environmental awareness, stricter public health measures and the return of the tourism industry lies an enduring threat: plastic pollution.

Activism works. That is the key takeaway for one Scout and Guides leader in eastern India’s Bihar State.

• Eleven new governments announce they will join the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment at the One Ocean Summit in Brest, France
• The science is clear – we must address plastic pollution urgently, with a systemic, life-cycle approach.

From the deepest points of the ocean to the food and water we consume, microplastics are a growing threat to human and planetary health.

• There is limited data on the extent and impact of marine litter in the Western Indian Ocean region
• Flipflopi and partners will map the extent of marine litter in the ocean and around the UNESCO heritage site of the Lamu archipelago
• The baseline study will be used to inform potential interventions, including the development of local closed-loop waste management

Lamu, 21 February 2022 – The cre