Every minute, around 33,800 plastic bottles are dumped into the Mediterranean Sea, amounting to a concentration of 1.25 million plastic fragments per square kilometer – significantly higher than in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. According to WWF estimates, the concentration of microplastics could quadruple by 2050, with severe implications for biodiversity and human health. These figures underscore the urgent need for fast and effective action to reduce plastic waste.
The research project "Clean Mediterranean Sea! – CMS!" and its main outcome, a study on plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea, are the result of four years of intensive work by over 60 contributors. The analysis reflects the legal and policy developments as they stood in 2023.
The interdisciplinary study brings together insights from biology, economics, political science, and – above all – law. It focuses on the legal frameworks at national, EU, and international levels, as well as their implementation in 14 Mediterranean countries, in order to highlight both progress and gaps in protecting one of the most important ecosystems from collapse due to plastic waste.
The project was initiated by Hannes Tretter, founder and director of the Vienna Forum for Democracy and Human Rights, who witnessed the deterioration of the Mediterranean Sea firsthand during numerous sailing trips. With financial support from the Hermann and Marianne Straniak Foundation, he coordinated this project together with his research team and colleagues from the 14 partner countries.
The study aims to serve as a knowledge base for all those committed to protecting the Mediterranean Sea and preserving natural habitats, and to guide decision-makers in taking the urgently needed action to safeguard this indispensable ecosystem.