Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska
Marine debris is ubiquitous across the global ocean and is an increasing threat to human health, economies, habitats, and wildlife. While local to national action plans are important in addressing this issue, they do not necessarily reflect the needs of coastal communities most heavily impacted. Rem...
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Canadian Science Publishing
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c4b0797c2fca4de4be68172c048a814d 2023-10-09T21:50:20+02:00 Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska Veronica M. Padula Anne H. Beaudreau Douglas Causey Lauren M. Divine Marissa Merculieff 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0047 https://doaj.org/article/c4b0797c2fca4de4be68172c048a814d EN eng Canadian Science Publishing https://facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2023-0047 https://doaj.org/toc/2371-1671 doi:10.1139/facets-2023-0047 2371-1671 https://doaj.org/article/c4b0797c2fca4de4be68172c048a814d FACETS, Vol 8, Iss , Pp 1-13 (2023) plastic pollution Bering Sea local and traditional knowledge marine litter subsistence environmental justice Education L Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0047 2023-09-24T00:36:48Z Marine debris is ubiquitous across the global ocean and is an increasing threat to human health, economies, habitats, and wildlife. While local to national action plans are important in addressing this issue, they do not necessarily reflect the needs of coastal communities most heavily impacted. Remote island and coastal communities, particularly in Alaska, do not generate the majority of marine debris impacting their ecosystems; however, they are often left with the task of removal and disposal. Thus, the detrimental effects of marine debris are not only an ecological problem but an issue of environmental justice. This project aimed to catalyze the inclusion of place-based knowledge in marine debris solutions for St. Paul Island, a predominantly (>85%) Alaska Native community in the Bering Sea. We interviewed 36 community members during 2017–2020, documenting their observations of marine debris types, amount, distribution, and impacts over recent decades. Participants reported increasing plastic debris since the 1980s, particularly plastic bottles and fishing gear. Nearly 80% expressed concern about impacts to subsistence resources, including entanglement and ingestion. St. Paul Island community members’ experiences highlight that solving marine debris issues requires broader policies and mitigation strategies addressing sources of debris and advancing environmental justice by impact reduction. Furthermore, this case study can serve as an example of how locally relevant action plans can be developed in other coastal communities around the world by including knowledge and concerns of community members, as they are the most heavily and personally impacted by the marine debris on their shorelines. Article in Journal/Newspaper Bering Sea Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Bering Sea FACETS 8 1 13 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
plastic pollution Bering Sea local and traditional knowledge marine litter subsistence environmental justice Education L Science Q |
spellingShingle |
plastic pollution Bering Sea local and traditional knowledge marine litter subsistence environmental justice Education L Science Q Veronica M. Padula Anne H. Beaudreau Douglas Causey Lauren M. Divine Marissa Merculieff Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska |
topic_facet |
plastic pollution Bering Sea local and traditional knowledge marine litter subsistence environmental justice Education L Science Q |
description |
Marine debris is ubiquitous across the global ocean and is an increasing threat to human health, economies, habitats, and wildlife. While local to national action plans are important in addressing this issue, they do not necessarily reflect the needs of coastal communities most heavily impacted. Remote island and coastal communities, particularly in Alaska, do not generate the majority of marine debris impacting their ecosystems; however, they are often left with the task of removal and disposal. Thus, the detrimental effects of marine debris are not only an ecological problem but an issue of environmental justice. This project aimed to catalyze the inclusion of place-based knowledge in marine debris solutions for St. Paul Island, a predominantly (>85%) Alaska Native community in the Bering Sea. We interviewed 36 community members during 2017–2020, documenting their observations of marine debris types, amount, distribution, and impacts over recent decades. Participants reported increasing plastic debris since the 1980s, particularly plastic bottles and fishing gear. Nearly 80% expressed concern about impacts to subsistence resources, including entanglement and ingestion. St. Paul Island community members’ experiences highlight that solving marine debris issues requires broader policies and mitigation strategies addressing sources of debris and advancing environmental justice by impact reduction. Furthermore, this case study can serve as an example of how locally relevant action plans can be developed in other coastal communities around the world by including knowledge and concerns of community members, as they are the most heavily and personally impacted by the marine debris on their shorelines. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Veronica M. Padula Anne H. Beaudreau Douglas Causey Lauren M. Divine Marissa Merculieff |
author_facet |
Veronica M. Padula Anne H. Beaudreau Douglas Causey Lauren M. Divine Marissa Merculieff |
author_sort |
Veronica M. Padula |
title |
Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska |
title_short |
Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska |
title_full |
Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from St. Paul Island, Alaska |
title_sort |
including local voices in marine debris conversations to advance environmental justice for island and coastal communities: perspectives from st. paul island, alaska |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0047 https://doaj.org/article/c4b0797c2fca4de4be68172c048a814d |
geographic |
Bering Sea |
geographic_facet |
Bering Sea |
genre |
Bering Sea Alaska |
genre_facet |
Bering Sea Alaska |
op_source |
FACETS, Vol 8, Iss , Pp 1-13 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2023-0047 https://doaj.org/toc/2371-1671 doi:10.1139/facets-2023-0047 2371-1671 https://doaj.org/article/c4b0797c2fca4de4be68172c048a814d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0047 |
container_title |
FACETS |
container_volume |
8 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
13 |
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1779313380357570560 |