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* Atleast Project Title is Required.
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Project No. |
OFWG 07 2020A
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Project Title |
Nanoplastics in Marine Debris in the APEC Region - Regional Workshop
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Project Status |
Project in Implementation
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Publication (if any) |
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Fund Account |
APEC Support Fund
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Sub-fund |
ASF: Marine Debris Management and Innovation (MDMI)
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Project Year |
2020
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Project Session |
Session 2
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APEC Funding |
150,000
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Co-funding Amount |
34,045
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Total Project Value |
184,045
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Sponsoring Forum |
Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG)
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Topics |
Fisheries; Marine Conservation; Oceans
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Committee |
SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE)
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Other Fora Involved |
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Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved |
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Proposing Economy(ies) |
United States
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Co-Sponsoring Economies |
Chile; Korea; Chinese Taipei; Thailand
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Expected Start Date |
01/04/2021
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Expected Completion Date |
30/06/2022
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Project Proponent Name 1 |
Van E Reidhead (new PO wef 4 August 2021)
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Job Title 1 |
International Relations Officer
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Organization 1 |
US Department of State
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Postal Address 1 |
Not Applicable
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Telephone 1 |
(1-703) 38553832
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Fax 1 |
Not Applicable
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Email 1 |
ReidheadVE@state.gov
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Project Proponent Name 2 |
Anil Patri
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Job Title 2 |
Dr
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Organization 2 |
US Food and Drug Administration
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Postal Address 2 |
Not Applicable
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Telephone 2 |
Not Applicable
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Fax 2 |
Not Applicable
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Email 2 |
Anil.Patri@fda.hhs.gov
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Declaration |
Van E Reidheid and Anil Patri
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Project Summary |
"Nanoplastics in Marine Debris in the APEC Region,” will support development of a technical and programmatic workshop on micro- and nanoplastics implications and mitigation research. The workshop will be held either as a hybrid in-person meeting either in Hawaii or Australia or a 100% virtual meeting, in December 2021, and would facilitate the sharing of best practices for characterization, understanding fate/transport, exposure, risk assessment, human and ecological health implications, and mitigation and remediation of micro- and nanoplastics in APEC economies. Policymakers; program managers from research, funding, and regulatory agencies; industry representatives; and scientists from APEC economies will be invited to participate to learn from each other’s experiences, share information and ideas on ongoing and planned projects, and develop plans for leveraged international efforts to address these global issues across the APEC region. The project will support implementation of the APEC Roadmap on Marine Debris with significant cross-APEC benefit to working groups addressing this issue. |
Relevance |
Relevance – Region: As outlined in the APEC Roadmap on Marine Debris, “Marine debris, including plastic litter in the marine environment, is an increasing global challenge in need of a cooperative response.” Macroscale and microscale plastic debris and particles are found in the air, soil, rivers, streams, lakes and marine environments all over the Pacific region and the world. Most of the plastic waste enters the oceans through waste streams and rivers. In marine environments, macroscale plastic debris tends to gradually break down into smaller particles. While the scientific literature on the identification, characterization, and risk assessment of microscale (1 micrometer and over in size) plastic particles are being explored in recent years, these particles are inevitably destined to break down into even smaller, nanometer scale (1-1000 nm sized) particles. These particles are taken up by marine organisms through the food chain and end up in seafood, food, and water, resulting in human exposure. The potential ecotoxicity, longer-term effects on marine ecosystem, fate and transport, and human exposure to nanoplastics through air, water, and food is unknown. The science on identification, characterization, and risk assessment of micro- and nanoplastics (hereinafter “nanoplastics”) is in its infancy. Especially the complexity involved with the characterization of these incidental nanoplastics mixtures, sizes, shapes and bound chemicals, additives, metals contained within, each of which vary by the location they are isolated from, and the abundance of these plastic particles, is less well understood. The workshop will assess current activities and gaps in nanoplastics implications research, as well as economic opportunities for innovation in remediating, mitigating, and reducing plastics waste. This project will benefit all APEC economies, since it will result in ease of communication and advancement in scientific innovation related to nanoplastic occurrence, including characterization and identification of nanoplastics from environmental matrices and the effects these particles may have on the ecology and human health. This project will advance the development of consensus on terminology and best practices surrounding nanoplastic occurrence, effects, and methodology. Nanoplastics characterization requires sophisticated microscopy and chemical instrumentation to detect and characterize these complex mixtures potentially contaminating the entire global environment, and having the potential to cross barriers (due to their very small size) in organisms and humans. Understanding the interactions of these materials within various ecological and biological matrices will benefit all APEC economies. Methods, methodologies, and guides will facilitate monitoring and collection of nanoplastics contaminants in air, water, and food in APEC economies. Relevance – Eligibility and Fund Priorities: This workshop will promote communication and cooperation among policymakers and scientists from across the APEC region in addressing this emerging challenge, avoiding redundant efforts, and accelerating the development of this critical area of marine debris science for the benefit of the entire APEC community. Some of the leading research in nanoplastics has been conducted in Europe in the recent past. This workshop will bring 2-3 experts from Europe so that the latest advances in the field can be shared from a European perspective. The project fulfills the following funding priorities of the ASF General Fund: “Safeguarding the quality of life through environmentally sound growth” and “Promoting the development of knowledge-based economies” by enabling improved understanding of nanoplastics, which is vital to the health and well-being of APEC economies. Marine debris has significant deleterious effects to the region’s economic growth, as demonstrated by the recent “Update of 2009 APEC Report on Economic Costs of Marine Debris to APEC Economics” (APEC#220-OF-01.1). The project will support core work of the OFWG, Virtual Working Group on Marine Debris, and other relevant fora to more effectively address nanoplastic debris by enabling better understanding of the amounts, distribution, and frequency of marine debris occurrence. This workshop will take a multi-stakeholder approach and engage government officials, civil society, private sector, academia, international organizations, and others in identifying opportunities for international cooperation in nanoplastics mitigation. Relevance – Capacity Building: As part of the workshop, we plan to hold a pre-workshop guided field trip to a nearby beach and a laboratory, along with a classroom training session to demonstrate how nanoplastics are collected, isolated, and characterized. This will provide a basis for the workshop. The workshop itself will have sessions on best practices, research methods, and ideas among scientists and policymakers across the APEC region. This will build scientific expertise and capacity to advance the science and develop local solutions to this emerging global problem for the benefit of the entire region. This workshop will initiate a process for developing a vision and long-term strategy for the region with respect to nanoplastics, including discussion of ideas for reducing plastic debris. We envision collaborations ensuing across the APEC economies that will result in scientific exchanges and the development of novel ideas and strategies for better understanding and mitigating/minimizing nanoplastics pollution. The project will build the capacity of APEC economies (especially the developing economies) and improve the economic and social well-being of populations by providing APEC policy makers and civil society entities with an effective means to communicate among nanoplastic regulators, researchers, and policy makers in the APEC economies. The grass roots movement in many APEC economies to minimize plastic waste is already creating biofriendly and biodegradable materials as alternatives to single-use plastics used in products such as plastic bags and cups. This will limit the amount of plastic waste and directly result in minimizing nanoplastic generation. Through this workshop, the APEC economy representatives will learn about each other’s experiences and measures being taken towards producing alternatives to single-use plastics. Industry is also very active conducting research on biodegradation pathways to produce new materials that do not degrade to nanoplastics, but with functionality required for individual products. Plastic pollution is a major problem and concern within the APEC economies. Therefore, APEC has a strong interest to lead the world in research and innovation to reverse and prevent this environmental and public health problem. The project will target key needs of APEC economies and the OFWG in understanding how to measure and mitigate the impact of micro- and nanoplastics in marine debris. This is consistent with discussions within other high-level fora, such as the UN Environment Assembly, G7, G20, ASEAN, EU/EC, etc., and this effort will build on and enhance such global work. Because the issue of nanoplastics in particular in marine debris is just recently receiving recognition in the scientific and policy communities, the project will also establish APEC and its economies as global leaders in addressing this issue. The project is well aligned with APEC needs and recent Ministerial and Leaders’ declarations by enhancing APEC economies’ understanding of the problem of marine debris and providing key information needed to promote its effective management. It also provides opportunities to vulnerable populations such as women and youth, as well as micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises for whom it is crucial to develop innovative solutions to marine debris. |
Objectives |
The overall objective of the project is to create an APEC-wide community of researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives dedicated to improving understanding of, and identifying opportunities for remediating or eliminating, the problems associated with micro- and nanoplastics in marine debris. This will include: a) Sharing of best practices for identifying, characterizing, assessing risk from, and reducing or remediating nanoscale plastic waste. b) Leveraging of scientific resources, and sharing in the development of alternate technologies, products, capabilities, and facilities. Building capacity across APEC economies by sharing existing knowledge in this emerging field. c) Initiating a draft framework for addressing short- and long-term issues associated with micro- and nanoplastics in the environment. |
Alignment |
Alignment - APEC: This effort will support implementation of the APEC Roadmap on Marine Debris, as outlined at the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting held in Puerto Varas, Chile, in August of 2019. More specifically, it will assist in the development of an APEC consolidated approach in addressing management of plastic waste, thus reducing marine debris, and in fostering collaborative research and innovation to enable the development of local solutions.
Private-sector engagement: Participants from plastic manufacturing companies across the APEC region will be invited to participate in the workshop, to share ideas for safer, or more recyclable, re-usable biofriendly products, including polymers that biodegrade completely into gaseous state without producing nanoplastics during the degradation process. Alignment – Forum: The project is aligned with the strategic plan of the APEC Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) priorities, such as “promoting the conservation of the marine environment and the sustainable use of fisheries, aquaculture and ocean ecosystems in the APEC region to ensure long-term economic benefits,” “enhancing sectoral public and private partnerships, including the participation and communication in OFWG work,” and “enhancing cross-fora collaboration to support the mainstreaming of ocean-related issues in APEC.” In addition, the project will support the Expected Outcomes/Deliverables of the OFWG Work Plan for 2019 such as: · Develop tools to assess and address the physical and economic impacts of marine litter, marine debris, and derelict fishing gear on APEC Economies, fisheries, and the marine environment.
· Promote continued activities within APEC which are in accordance with the common view of Blue Economy as agreed at OFWG 3. · Develop/enhance cross-fora collaboration to support (among other things): the mainstreaming of ocean-related issues in APEC. By promoting a process to improve understanding, share best practices, and promote international cooperation across the APEC economies in scientific research and policies to address nanoplastics in marine debris, this project has tremendous potential to aid implementation of the APEC Marine Debris Roadmap. Most explicitly, this directly addresses the following elements of the Roadmap: “consider cross-fora collaboration on harmonization of macro and micro plastics monitoring methodologies and the best available technologies to reduce the release of plastic waste” and “support research and promote knowledge sharing - to assess marine debris impacts on coastal ecosystems (e.g., mangroves, sea grass, coral) and the marine environment,” among others. The project also aligns with the OFWG core commitment to ensure “the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources as well as protection of marine ecosystems needed to support fisheries and aquaculture.” |
TILF/ASF Justification |
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Beneficiaries and Outputs |
Outputs: The specific outputs of the project will include the following: 1. Research work identifying centers of excellence and leaders in micro-/nanoplastics research and policymaking across the APEC economies, informing workshop organizing committee selection, agenda, and invitees 2. Workshop 3. Workshop presentation abstracts and slides, posted on website 4. Workshop summary report Output details: 1. Research Work: The initial stages of the project will entail research by the PO, contractor, and the workshop organizing committee to identify institutions and individuals across the APEC region who are leaders in research and policy development related to micro- and nanoplastics in marine debris. The product of this research will be: a) the final list of organizing committee members who will steer the remainder of the project; b) the final draft agenda for the workshop; and c) the draft and final lists of speakers, panelists, discussants, and invitees for the workshop. The goal will be to select a group of speakers, panelists, and discussants that is broadly representative of the APEC region, and with the appropriate mix of researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. Invitations will be extended to all APEC economies. Because there is some leading work ongoing on this subject in the European Union (EU), additional invitees (including possible speakers, panelists, or discussants, experts in micro-/nanoplastics characterization, exposure, fate/transport, and/or toxicology) from the EU will be considered, in particular from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, the European Food Safety Authority, and the European Chemicals Agency. 2. Workshop: A 3-day workshop will be convened in December 2021 in either Honolulu, Hawaii, or Sydney, Australia. While not preferred, the option for a 100% virtual workshop will be retained until a final decision point on July 1, 2021. The baseline assumption is that the workshop will be hosted by Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) in Honolulu, using HPU’s meeting facilities and support services. Alternate location is National Measurement Institute (NMI) in Sydney, Australia. Targeted stakeholders include researchers, policymakers, and representatives of the plastics and water purification industries. The purpose is to bring experts to share the latest scientific research findings and methods and to share and develop best practices for understanding and mitigating nanoplastics in marine debris. The proposed budget provides for up to 120 participants (including up to 28 travel eligible, 8 other APEC (self funded), 6 global experts and 4 staff (from the U.S. and self-funded) and 2 contractors (to present on research and facilitate workshop input) to further develop the decision framework. A rough agenda for the workshop, including a tentative list of discussion topics and description of the workshop format, is attached as Appendix A to this proposal. The workshop will be preceded by an optional half-day training session at Center for Marine Debris Research of Hawaii Pacific University the day before the workshop. This will include a guided field trip to a nearby beach and a laboratory, along with a classroom training session to demonstrate how nanoplastics are collected, isolated, and characterized. This will inform the technical and policy discussions at the workshop. Workshop invitees will be surveyed both before and after the workshop to improve understanding of the state of knowledge of micro- and nanoplastics technical and policy issues, and the extent to which the workshop enhanced that state of knowledge. A summary of the survey results could be included as an appendix to the workshop summary report (see below). 3. Workshop Presentation Abstracts and Slides; Website: An important interim and long-term output from the workshop will be the presentation abstracts and slides submitted by the workshop speakers in advance of and during the workshop. These will be posted on the workshop website, along with a link to the final summary report on the APEC webiste (when that is available). Videos of the workshop presentations will also be posted, if the presenters give their permission. The website will be stood up in advance of the workshop for registration, will serve as a reference during the workshop, and for the archival record of the workshop afterwards. The presentations will provide more detail on each presenter’s interests, activities, and recommendations than will be possible to include in a brief workshop summary report. The website will initially be stood up by the support Contractor chosen by APEC for the workshop. Presenters will be asked to submit their abstracts in advance of the workshop, and those will be posted as soon as received, to build momentum in advance of the workshop and provide read-ahead materials for workshop participants to refer to in preparing for the workshop itself. If it is possible for APEC to host the workshop website as a long-term archive, along with the summary report, that would be ideal. Otherwise the PO will seek other venues for hosting the archival website. 5. Workshop Summary Report: A summary report up to 25 pages in length will be developed by the Contractor, under the supervision of the PO and the workshop organizing committee. The purpose of the report will be to summarize the discussions, findings, and recommendations of the workshop. The report will include chapters summarizing the presentations by the speakers and the subsequent discussions during each of the sessions of the workshop. Contractor and PO will work together to prepare the report for an official APEC publication. A hyperlink to the archival workshop website containing the presentation abstracts and slides will be included. The target audiences include researchers, policymakers, representatives of the plastics and water purification industries, and the general public. Dissemination plans include posting the report on the APEC website. In additional (and outside the scope of this project) the PO, organizing committee, and other workshop participants may elect to present summaries of the workshop at government and professional society meetings across the APEC region or organize follow-on meetings/workshops during which the results of this workshop will be further disseminated. Some participants may decide to develop an article summarizing the workshop findings and recommendations, to be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific and/or policy journal (e.g., Nature Nanotechnology or Foreign Affairs).
(See contractor work statement/budget at the end of this proposal for additional details.) 2. Outcomes: Using a numbered list, describe the specific impacts, changes or benefits that the project is expected to deliver, which directly support the project objective (above). These include changes in policy, processes, or behaviour in the participating institutions, or in APEC more broadly. Be sure that each outcome can be measured and is a direct result of the project. The expected outcomes from the workshop include catalyzing the development of an APEC-wide community of researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives dedicated to improving understanding of, and identifying opportunities for remediating or eliminating, the problems associated micro- and nanoplastics in marine debris, and specifically the development of ongoing international scientific and policy collaborations on this topic across the APEC economies. Examples include the following: 1. Sharing and building consensus for best practices to identify, characterize, and assess risk from, and reducing or remediating, nanoscale plastic waste. This includes best practice methodologies for nanoplastic sampling, analysis, and reporting methods, including breakthrough instrumentation and methodology for difficult to detect and measure nanoplastics categories. This will allow adoption of accepted consistent methods across the APEC region and allow for better communication between APEC member economies to monitor and detect nanoplastics. This is measured by adoption of similar methodologies among member economies, future joint webinars, co-authored journal articles and spin-off conferences and workshops to continue discussion of evolving method development. Harmonization of methods allows comparison of data across the APEC region. 2. Improving knowledge and understanding among workshop participants and broader APEC communities regarding the issues and opportunities associated with identifying, characterizing, assessing risk from, and reducing or remediating nanoscale plastic waste. 3. Leveraging scientific resources, capabilities, and facilities within APEC economies regarding nanoplastic sampling, analysis, and reporting methods. Leveraged scientific resources will result in reduced duplicative efforts and allow resources to be directed to areas of research most needed. This can be measured by progress in the development of methods to detect identify and quantify nanoplastics. 4. Developing best practices for nanoplastic terminology including: definitions, reporting concentrations (i.e., particles/ volume, particles/weight, weight/weight, or weight/volume), and minimum acceptable information requirements for quality control/quality assurance for sampling and analytical methodology and results reporting. This will allow for comparison and acceptance of nanoplastic data sets across the APEC region. This will result in increased clarity in future discussion and research communication between member economies and can be measured in the expanded sharing of data across the APEC economies. Beneficiaries:
a. Direct Beneficiaries: Participants in the workshop from the research community (e.g., marine and environmental scientists, toxicologists) will learn from presentations on best practices in identifying, characterizing, understanding potential risks, and reducing/recycling of nanoplastics in marine environments. Participants from the plastics manufacturing and recycling industries will learn about technical advances and opportunities for developing alternative materials and markets. Participants from the water purification industry will learn about best practices in identifying and remediating plastics in waste water treatment streams. Regulators and other policymakers will share best practices and guidelines among APEC economies, opportunities for leveraging research funding activities internationally, and ideas for providing incentives for industry to reduce or remediate plastic waste in marine debris. Government representatives from APEC economies who would most benefit from participating include senior staff from agencies that regulate water, food, agriculture, and solid waste disposal; agencies that support research on micro-/nanoplastics identification, characterization, exposure, environmental health effects, and plastics recycling or upcycling; and members of the diplomatic community who can help to facilitate the development of international collaborations. b. Indirect Beneficiaries: The public across all of the APEC economies; the marine organisms, fishery industry, the environment, public health, and agriculture. The preservation of marine fisheries will also enhance food security throughout the region, which benefits all APEC economies. c. Environmental Scientists and Chemists with doctoral degrees will be panelists and speakers. The workshop organizers will strive to invite scientist from a diversity of APEC economies and beyond. Only one to two guest speakers from outside of the APEC economies will be selected carefully to provide updates on the cutting-edge methods coming from Europe. Speakers will be government, academic, and industry scientists. Participants will include policymakers from APEC economies. |
Dissemination |
Speakers’ presentation slides and/or videos of their presentations can be recorded and shared publicly online if speakers give permission. Speakers will be given the option of editing their presentation slides or videos before posting. MPEG or other video formats will be chosen, depending on which website provider is chosen to host the archival workshop website. Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research might be able to host a webpage on its website, similar to a past workshop it hosted (https://www.hpu.edu/cncs/cmdr/workshop.html). Alternative website hosts could be APEC itself, or the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative. The target audience can be broad, from general public to scientists and policymakers who were not present at the workshop. As discussed above, the workshop website, including agenda, abstracts, and presentation materials (and videos if available) will be archived, with the host chosen for longevity to assure that the information generated from the workshop is available for a long time to come. The main output of the project will be the workshop summary report. This will be submitted to the APEC Secretariat for review and then publication as an official APEC publication. The Contractor will be tasked with assembling the first draft of the report and with copy editing it to meet APEC standards. The PO and organizing committee will serve as the technical domain experts in reviewing the content to assure that it meets APEC publication standards. Organizers will also seek opportunities (outside the scope of this project) to publish more detailed results in technical journals, including perhaps a special issue of a technical journal. The workshop summary report will be produced by an APEC-funded contractor, and the APEC publication guidelines will be followed. It is anticipated that a small number of copies may be printed (<100), funded by the POs, but the chief form of dissemination would be through electronic publication and via the existing Virtual Working Group on Marine Debris website. The target audiences of the workshop summary report and its companion posted workshop presentations and abstracts are government entities, research institutions, civil society organizations, universities, local government authorities, and others in the APEC region seeking to understand the incidence of marine debris in the environment. While the report will be developed for use and targeted for APEC economies, it will have global application, and is intended to be a product that can demonstrate global leadership of the APEC forum on understanding and addressing nanoplastics in marine debris. There is no intent to sell outputs from this project. The PO will explore other dissemination channels for the document, which may include the UN Regional Seas Programmes in the APEC region; the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), in which the PO is a member of the Steering Committee; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat’s working group related to marine debris; the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter portal site (hosted by Japan); the UN Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission; the International Maritime Organization; and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. |
Gender |
Women play an important and growing role in studying and addressing the marine debris issue in the APEC region. This project would promote the following APEC women’s empowerment pillars: Leadership, voice and agency and Innovation and technology. The POs will seek to incorporate women in key roles of the project, including performing the contract work, serving as global experts and as participants in the workshop and other aspects of the project design and execution. The PO will target at least 30% of workshop participants as well as at least 30% of the experts/speakers as female. If female participation falls below 30% the POs will take positive action to increase female participation. The POs will also consult with colleagues in the U.S. Government (in particular at the U.S. Agency for International Development) who have worked on women’s empowerment through their work in the APEC region in the USAID-funded municipal waste recycling program and the Clean Cities Blue Ocean project, both projects aimed at other aspects of the marine debris problem. This work has examined the role of women in environmental management and these colleagues can provide strategies for increasing female participation in the workshop. The POs will also consult global experts to identify and engage female experts to be active participants in the project. PO is committed to collecting sex disaggregated data for all speakers and participants (not only those funded by APEC) at the project workshop. This data will be included when submitting a Completion Report to the Secretariat upon completion of the project, as well as providing guidance to future POs on their own gender parity targets. |
Work Plan |
| Time | Tasks | Deliverable | | March 15, 2021 | RFP for Contract for workshop facilitation/report generation initiated (supporting Outputs 1-3) | Work statement/budget (see last page of this proposal for first draft) | | April 1, 2021 | Proposals due; distributed to reviewers for evaluation | Proposals and review criteria | | April 14, 2021 | Reviewer evaluations of proposals due to APEC | Completed review forms | | May 7, 2021 | APEC selects winning bidder, contract executed for support of workshop (Output 1), posting of presentation slides and abstracts (Output 2), and preparation of workshop summary report (Output 3) | Executed contracts with selected bidder | | May 12, 2021 | First meeting (likely virtual) between support contractor and lead workshop organizers/POs | Updated schedule and deliverables, list of candidates for organizing committee | | May 20, 2021 | Contractor organizes its first meeting with the workshop organizing committee (and subsequently every two weeks thereafter) | First draft agenda and list of speakers | | June 3, 2021 | Submit first draft agenda and list of proposed workshop speakers and participants to APEC Secretariat | Approved draft agenda, workshop speakers and participants | | July 1, 2021 | Decision made to go forward with in-person workshop or shift to virtual event (Output 1). Website set up by the contractor | Revised agenda and schedule (if necessary for virtual event) | | May thru July 1, 2021 | Revise agenda; Issue informal invitations to first choice workshop speakers and participants | Workshop agenda and invited speakers and participants | | July 15, 2021 | Submit workshop agenda and preferred speaker list to APEC Secretariat; finalize arrangements with host venue in Honolulu or Australia (if proceeding with in-person workshop) or identify online platform (if virtual) | Approved workshop agenda, speaker list; venue/platform secured | | August 2, 2021 | Update agenda and list of speakers (revised based on responses to initial invitations); begin issuing formal invitations to speakers, panelists, discussants, and industry and APEC representatives | Updated workshop agenda and list of participants | | September 10, 2021 | All speakers, other participants invited. Finalize agenda and workshop logistics, meeting venue (or virtual venue) arrangements, update workshop website with details, start arranging travel for sponsored travelers | Final agenda, website, contracts w/ hotels, meeting room, IT providers | | October 15, 2021 | With guidance from organizing committee, Contractor develops draft outline for workshop summary report and plan for how workshop materials/participants will populate the outline | First draft summary report outline (Output 3) | | 1 October 2021 | Submit APEC Project Monitoring Report to APEC Secretariat | APEC Project Monitoring Report | | December 2021 (exact date TBD) | Host APEC Nanoplastics in Marine Debris Workshop (either for 3.5 days in Honolulu, USA or Sydney, Australia; or virtually over several days) | Workshop held | | Dec. 2021 to Jan. 2022 (exact date TBD) | Conduct post-workshop evaluation; post final presentations and abstracts on workshop website (Outputs 1 and 2 concluded) | Evaluation survey data; posted presentations and abstracts | | Dec. 2021 to Jan. 2022 | Organizing committee provides final outline and Contractor assembles/drafts workshop summary report, guided by organizing committee/PO in several draft iterations (Output 3) | Draft outline and workshop summary report drafts | | Jan. 24, 2022 | Contractor iterates draft workshop summary report with PO and organizing committee, produces review draft, and distributes to workshop participants for review | First complete draft report authorized by PO and committee | | Jan. to March 2022 | Contractor compiles review responses and tracked changes revised report draft to respond to reviewers, iterate as needed | Revised report drafts | | April 4, 2022 | Submit final draft workshop summary report to Secretariat (completion of Output 3) | Summary Report | | May 1, 2022 | Final draft of the Summary Report to be submitted to the Secretariat; PO begins work with organizing committee and Contractor to address any requested changes | APEC review comments discussed by PO, organizing committee | | June 1-30, 2022 | Contractor incorporates agreed changes into report, performs copy edit to comply with all APEC requirements, delivers revised final draft report to PO and organizing committee. Financial disbursement finalized. | Review comments incorporated into revised draft summary report; copy edit completed | | August 22, 2022 | Submit APEC Project Completion Report to APEC Secretariat | APEC Project Completion Report | | June 2023 | Participation in the Long-Term Evaluation of APEC Projects conducted by APEC Secretariat | PO input into evaluation completed |
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Risks |
At the domestic or local level, competing priorities and limited funding to address marine debris writ large, and to conduct the necessary scientific analysis on the scale and scope of the problem of micro and nanoplastics in particular could present a risk to project implementation. However, based on current and prior work across the APEC region on marine debris issues and the momentum behind this, both at the domestic and regional levels, we are confident there is significant interest in — and political will for — studying the problem of micro and nanoplastics further and to share lessons learned and develop best practices to study it. 2. The ongoing global pandemic caused by COVID-19 may also pose a risk to the project, given the cancellation of many upcoming events and uncertainty regarding the timing and likelihood of travel and in-person events in the near future. We have tried to manage for this risk by developing a plan for a careful and deliberate process for planning the agenda and technical scope of the workshop during the period from March to September 2021, irrespective of the workshop location/venue. This will allow for efficient execution of the workshop as either an in-person or virtual event after the decision is made in July 2021 regarding which way to proceed. The workshop is slated for December of 2021, when ideally travel and in-person events may be safely resumed. The project partners will be working closely together on this project and will be able to adjust and develop contingencies, in coordination with the APEC Secretariat, should pandemic-related restrictions persist into late 2021 and/or new issues emerge that would pose a risk to hosting the planned workshop in person. All project partners are committed to implement virtual options to ensure all deliverables are still met. Even the in-person option includes a budget for webcasting and other virtual features, to enhance opportunities for participation across the APEC region, and especially for economies with continuing tight restrictions due to COVID or tight travel budgets. 3. Economies not applying knowledge learned from the project could pose a risk as well: We will mitigate this risk by including a wide variety of input from different APEC geographies in the workshop to ensure buy in from a broad spectrum of stakeholders. The workshop (virtual or in person) will also give all stakeholders a first-hand opportunity to provide feedback and to get an in-depth understanding. It will also bring knowledge and experience in this topic from other parts of the world (e.g., Europe) to the participating APEC economies. |
Monitoring and Evaluation |
| Outputs/ Outcomes | Evaluation Focus | Indicators | Target Goals | Evaluation Method | Reporting | | Outputs | 1. Research work; organizing committee, agenda, invited participants | 1. Workshop support contract executed | 7 May 2021 | Certification by PO | Contract | | 2. No. of experts engaged (organizing committee/
speakers & panelists) | 10/20 | Organizing Committee Roster/Event Agenda | Completion Report | | 3. No. of attending economies | 15 | Event Attendance List | Completion Report | | 4. No. of travel eligible economies | 8 | Event Attendance List | Completion Report | | 5. % of participating men/women | 70/30 | Event Attendance List | Completion Report | | 6. Agenda and speakers, panelists, invitees finalized | 10 Sept. 2021 | Certification by PO | Contract | | 2. Workshop | 7. No. of experts (speakers & panelists) / other participants | 30 / 120 | Event Agenda & Attendance List | Completion Report | | 8. No. of attending economies | 16 | Event Attendance List | Completion Report | | 9. No. of travel eligible economies | 6 | Event Attendance List | Completion Report | | 10. % of participating men/women | 70/30 | Event Attendance List | Completion Report | | 11. Workshop executed | 15 Dec. 2021 | Certification by PO | Completion Report | | 3. Workshop website, presentation abstracts & slides | 12. Website established | 1 July 2021 | Certification by PO | Completion Report | | 13. Abstracts & slides posted on website | 7 Jan. 2022 | Certification by PO | Completion Report | | 14. Unique visitors to website | 500 / month, average Feb. thru July 2022 | Certification by PO | Completion Report | | 4. Workshop summary report | 15. No. of pages | 25 | Certification by PO | Email to the Secretariat | | 16. Submission to the Secretariat | 4 April 2022 | Submission to the Secretariat | Email to the Secretariat | | Outcomes | 1. Best practices in identifying, characterizing, assessing risk from, and reducing or remediating nanoscale plastic waste | 1. Dissemination of best practices to economies | 2022 to 2023 | Tracking economies 18 months after event | Report to APEC Oceans & Fisheries Working Group | | 2. Knowledge and understanding among workshop participants regarding the issues and opportunities associated with identifying, characterizing, assessing risk from, and reducing or remediating nanoscale plastic waste | 2. % of participants report substantial knowledge increase | 75% | Ex-ante and ex-post evaluations | Completion Report | | 3. developing APEC economies report substantial knowledge increase | 25% | Ex-ante and ex-post evaluations | Completion Report | | | 4. women report substantial knowledge increase | 33% | Ex-ante and ex-post evaluations | Completion Report | | 3. Leveraging scientific resources, capabilities, and facilities within APEC economies regarding nanoplastic sampling, analysis, and reporting methods | 5. No. of collaborations established in two years following workshop | 10 | Included in the Project Report | Report to Working Group The APEC longer-term evaluation of APEC Projects | | 4. Developing best practices for nanoplastic terminology | 6. Achieve consensus on best practices among economies | 2022 to 2023 | Tracking economies 18 months after event | Report to APEC Oceans & Fisheries Working Group | | Others | Development of an APEC-wide community of researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives dedicated to improving understanding of, and identifying opportunities for remediating or eliminating, the problems associated micro- and nanoplastics in marine debris | 1. Ongoing series of follow-on workshops, international scientific and policy collaborations, and joint publications across APEC economies | 2022 to 2030 | Tracking progress at periodic APEC meetings during years after event | Report to Working Group The APEC longer-term evaluation of APEC Projects | | 2. Capacity building among APEC economies on best practices for nanoplastics characterization, hazard, exposure, and risk assessment. | 2022 to 2030 | Tracking progress at periodic APEC meetings during years after event | Report to Working Group The APEC longer-term evaluation of APEC Projects | Survey data will be collected via questionnaire at the beginning and conclusion of the project workshop and through survey monkey for broader APEC feedback in addition to the workshop participants. |
Linkages |
The project is intended to be a cross-fora collaboration between OFWG, Virtual Working Group on Marine Debris, and the Policy Partnership on Food Security with interest to the Chemical Dialogue. The project will engage non-APEC stakeholders from the EU, civil society and private sector representatives with an interest and stake in micro and nanoplastics research. |
Sustainability |
The project will build understanding of the scientific, economic, societal, and policy issues associated with nanoplastics pollution throughout the APEC economies. By identifying and seeding opportunities for scientific and economic cooperation and leveraging across the region, it will also have a long-term impact in building the capacity of participants to conduct effective scientific research and remediation/mitigation activities. The project outputs are specifically designed to ensure long-term impact, scalability, replication, and sustainability for the APEC region. In particular, the publication of workshop findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal (outside the scope of this project) will disseminate the information and recommendations from the workshop to the broader, global, scientific and industrial communities, and establish APEC as a global leader in addressing the problems of micro- and nanoplastic pollution. The workshop will seed long-standing scientific exchanges and collaborations across the region that could have impacts lasting for decades. Best practices and opportunities for remediating and mitigating adverse environmental and economic impacts of nanoplastics identified at the workshop and in follow-on scientific exchanges could have long-term impacts on the health and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world. We envision hosting additional workshops or other events at future fora to showcase the outcomes of the workshop and identify new opportunities going forward (but also outside the scope of this project). Through the workshop, the project will raise participants’ awareness and build lasting capacity for effective strategies for studying and understanding the scale and scope of the problems posed my micro and nanoplastics. Further, the project will build long-term capacity of the relevant stakeholders from policy-makers, academia, and private sector in the APEC region to effectively understand the problem of micro and nanoplastics. |
Project Overseers |
The POs for the overall project will be Nicholas Austin, U.S. Department of State, Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs; Anil Patri, Ph.D., U.S. Food and Drug Administration. |
Cost Efficiency |
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Direct Labour |
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Are there any supporting document attached? |
No
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