SEVENSEAS Marine Conservation & Travel SPECIAL PUBLICATION | Page 5

THE
PROJECT
This project aims to produce solid scientific information to enable informed and
comprehensive policy decision-making
in the Arctic to tackle the microplastics issue.

Although focused in the Arctic region, this
is a cross-regional project: not only because the pollutants in the Arctic come
from distant regions, but also because the
effects will reverberate across the world.

The overall objectives of this
research project are to:
• Assess the origins of the microplastics in the Arctic, the harmful
effects of plastic ingestion in the
Arctic food web and its potential to
affect organisms ranging from zooplankton to top predators ;
• Assess and address the food safety
issue, i.e., public health concerns
for the consumption of fish and
seafood fished from microplastics-polluted waters ;
• Assess the effects of the capture and
release of the microplastics from
the ice, their physical and chemical
effects (including possible effects on
the formation and melting of the ice)
and their decomposition ;
• Provide comprehensive recommendations to governments, industries,
local communities and civil society
to design solutions to the problem of
microplastics pollution in the Arctic.

Global Marine & Polar Programme IUCN
(International Union for Conservation of Nature)

28 rue Mauverney,
CH-1196 Gland,
Switzerland

Tel: [phone]
Fax [phone]
www.iucn.org