Aquatic litter is found throughout Europe’s waters – from groundwater, rivers and lakes to coastlines, the sea surface and the seabed. However, monitoring, sampling and reporting methods vary between countries and environments. This makes results difficult to compare and limits Europe’s ability to assess the distribution, movement and risks of aquatic litter consistently.
CLEAR-WATER develops, tests and validates harmonised, cost-effective approaches for monitoring and assessing aquatic litter. The project covers the full source-to-sea continuum and litter across multiple size classes, from macro litter to microplastics and nanoplastics. Methods are tested through five European case studies and combined with modelling, risk assessment, emerging monitoring technologies and stakeholder participation.
SINTEF Ocean leads the project's work on multi-level governance for harmonised aquatic litter monitoring. We will examine how monitoring can be better aligned across EU, regional sea, national, regional and local levels, and how scientific methods and evidence can be integrated with existing policy, institutional arrangements and management needs.
The project's results will come together in CLEARMAP, a pan-European Aquatic Litter Monitoring and Assessment Framework integrating validated methods, data, models, ecological risk information and governance guidance. CLEAR-WATER will thereby provide a stronger and more comparable evidence base for environmental assessment and policies aimed at reducing aquatic litter and plastic pollution across Europe.