AECO is thrilled to announce that we have received in total NOK 767 500 in external funding for two different projects.
To continue our Clean Seas efforts, we have received a total of NOK 600,000, where NOK 300,000 was received from the Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund and NOK 300,000 was received from The Norwegian Center Against Marine Litter.
In addition, we have received NOK 167,500 from the Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund to carry out a project where we want to develop additional resources for field staff through a “digital knowledge center”.
Funding will enhance AECO’s Clean Seas efforts and help us develop educational material
Most of the funding will go towards our continued efforts on combating plastic pollution through the Clean Seas project. The two main objectives are to enhance these initiatives and share data, and to educate passengers, staff, and crew on marine litter.
As part of these efforts, AECO is continuously working to drastically cut back on single-use plastics on Arctic expedition cruise vessels, as well as enhance cruise passengers’ involvement in regular beach cleanups. AECO is also focused on educating passengers, staff, and the public on what can be done to prevent marine plastic pollution.
We have been doing this in close collaboration with the Governor of Svalbard and other local institutions for almost 20 years, and our goal is to increase these efforts and activities. Together with tour operators and expedition cruise passengers, we can make a significant contribution to keeping the beaches of Svalbard clean.
Plastic and marine pollution is a global problem; therefore, we provide travelers with information on responsible solutions to reducing their waste and plastic footprint before, during and after their trip.
How will we enhance cleanup initiatives and share data?
When AECO members bring passengers ashore to get closer experiences of fauna, flora and geological formations they have the additional opportunity to make a difference by participating in a beach cleanup, which gives their trip a different meaning. Guides inform passengers, provide equipment, and report the cleanup to the Governor of Svalbard and AECO. The litter is brought on board the vessels for transport to the waste reception facility in Longyearbyen.
- AECO coordinates and informs members of beach cleaning information.
- AECO collects information about cleanup activities and shares this information with stakeholders. This has allowed for increased data on the origin, composition and distribution of plastic pollution found on Svalbard beaches.
- AECO members contribute to research efforts on marine waste.
How will we educate passengers, staff, and crew on marine litter?
AECO’s members have a prime opportunity to facilitating first‐hand experiences on the extent of the marine litter problem and educate visitors on its consequences. Educational activities, including lectures and talks on environmental issues, are an integral part of expedition cruise programming. As such, AECO’s Clean Seas Project is disseminated to thousands of Arctic travelers every year, raising awareness of the problem of marine litter.
With this additional funding, AECO aims to develop educational materials for vessel operators, such as signage for vessels that create awareness on waste reduction and digital pamphlets on marine litter and cleanups to be included in the pre‐voyage kits for passengers. AECO also aims to develop a Marine Litter Toolkit for Arctic Field Staff which will provide expedition leaders and guides with the materials and information that they need to educate tourists on marine litter.
Development of a “digital knowledge center” for field staff
With the funding of NOK 167,500 from Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund, AECO will start developing a “digital knowledge center” for field staff. AECO has for many years worked closely with various research- and knowledge environments and will continue this collaboration to create presentations covering various topics that the guides can use to increase their knowledge of Svalbard.
The end results will range from PowerPoint presentations to videos, interviews, and other formats suitable for different purposes. In addition to inspiring and increasing knowledge among guides, we want this project to provide research communities with a platform where they can share their knowledge and results.
AECO will make all the material available through our website, and we are confident that these resources will help increase the knowledge of Svalbard among guides. The questions from the presentations will also be included in AECOs mandatory annual Field Staff Online Assessment, and perhaps be of use as a resource in the upcoming guide certification in Svalbard.
