Local Solutions for Plastic Pollution

Vietnam is one of five countries that account for 60% of the oceans’ plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is increasingly receiving policy attention at the national level, but at the local level, communities are not equipped to meaningfully change human behavior. Contributing to targets laid out through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) global Save Our Seas Initiative, USAID’s Local Solutions for Plastic Pollution project supports three cities to create and carry out action plans to reduce plastic pollution. 

CATALYZING LOCAL OWNERSHIP FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION

This project coordinates with partners and local actors to develop and implement community joint action plans to address plastic pollution, with a focus on businesses and the tourism and fisheries industries. As part of this, the project will develop local landscape analyses to assess the current state of the problem as well as available and needed resources to address the problem. It will provide training programs to promote local leadership, facilitate networking, and generate solutions to plastic waste-related health challenges. In addition, the project supports the creation of a public digital platform for networking on plastic pollution issues in Vietnam. The project will help communities mobilize resources by facilitating connections with existing networks and business alliances and aligning action plans with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and global initiatives. 

IMPACT

As a result of the project, the three target cities will strengthen their plastic waste management practices and experience a reduction in plastic pollution in the environment.  

TARGETED LOCALITIES

The project works at the local level in Hanoi, Danang, and Hoi An cities.