The escalating threats posed by marine pollution, particularly plastic waste and abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), are degrading coastal ecosystems and undermining the livelihoods of small-scale fishers across Asia. Addressing this challenge requires strengthening community capacity, promoting sustainable waste management, and fostering long-term behavioural change. This project adopts a four-phase capacity development approach. Phase 1 focuses on stakeholder engagement and baseline assessment of coastal plastic pollution, ALDFG, and current waste management and fishing practices through collaboration with fishers, NGOs, and government agencies. Phase 2 involves the co-development of context-specific training modules and an IoT based community monitoring platform. Phase 3 delivers hands-on capacity-building workshops in India, Malaysia, and Indonesia using a Training-of Trainers approach involving fisheries extension officers, NGOs, and community representatives. Phase 4 focuses on post-training followup, simplified community-based monitoring using the IoT platform, community-led clean-up activities, policy engagement, and handover of the monitoring framework to local partners. The project will strengthen community stewardship, enhance coastal ecosystem resilience to pollution and climate-related stressors, and contribute to sustainable coastal management in support of SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
Project • CBA2026-06MY-Subbarayalu