ODYSSEA project coordinator Prof. Georgios Sylaios presented ODYSSEA’s approach to fighting Mediterranean marine litter at the 8th Mutual Learning event held on 28 June, in the framework of the EU URBAN WASTE project conference held in Kavala, Greece.
Prof. Sylaios presentation focused on ODYSSEA project objectives, and particularly the network of nine marine observatories being established across the Mediterranean, including a description of their technical aspects and an in-depth look at how state-of-the-art sensors will detect litter, especially seaborne micro-plastics.
“The replication potential of the [ODYSSEA] observatories is not only a central concept of ODYSSEA, but a fully sustainable and practical way to tackle at local level threats to the environment and economic growth by joining together world-class tools and local skills,” Prof. Sylaios noted.
He also touched on the wider context of local partnerships, and the synergies that can be developed once the North Aegean Observatory is put in operation, during the coming year.
Prof. Sylaios called attention to the upcoming ODYSSEA summer school, to be held in Kavala in September.
The EU URBAN WASTE project is running pilots in eleven (mostly coastal) tourist cities in Europe, with the goal of reducing and recycling wastes. The cities and regions participating in the project are Copenhagen (Denmark), Dubrovnik – Neretva County (Croatia), Florence and Syracuse (Italy), Kavala (Greece), Lisbon and Ponta Delgada (Portugal), Nice (France), Nicosia (Cyprus), and Santander and Tenerife (Spain).
The three-day conference included a first day of meetings of the Kavala steering committee, a second day for meetings and training sessions with local pilot partners, and the open mutual learning event held on the third day, which was intended for a wide audience of stakeholders and interested parties.
The meeting agenda is available here.
The ODYSSEA presentation is available here.
