We are facing a serious problem of plastic pollution. According to Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Indonesians use 9.8 billion plastic bags each year. And around 95 percent of these end up as waste.

Based on data from the World Bank, Indonesia produces 175,000 tons of waste each day. Alarmingly, 14 percent of that waste, or 24,500 tons, is plastic. Indonesians also use 93 million straws every day.

Unfortunately, 81 percent of that waste is unsorted, making it difficult to recycle. As a result, most of this waste, especially plastic, will end up in rivers and oceans. Plastic is threatening the biodiversity of our oceans. On many occasions, we have found huge piles of plastic in the stomachs of marine animals like whales and sharks.

“I think we will have more plastic than fish in our oceans very soon,” Joko Suprianto, who works at a private company in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Furthermore, Indonesia — the world’s biggest archipelagic nation — is believed to be the second-largest contributor to ocean plastic pollution, after China. Most of the plastic debris flows into the ocean through rivers. Indonesian rivers like the Brantas, Bengawan Solo, Serayu and Progo are some of the most polluted in the world.

The problem of plastic pollution is not a problem exclusive to Indonesia. It is a global problem. The same situation can be seen in almost all countries in Southeast Asia. It is a complex issue, and governments cannot solve this problem alone. Public participation is required to reduce plastic pollution. For this, there is a helping hand from a faraway land.

In an effort to support ASEAN efforts to reduce marine plastic debris, Norway on Dec. 9 launched the ASEAN-Norway Cooperation Project on Local Capacity Building for Reducing Plastic Pollution in the ASEAN Region (ASEANO).

“Norway is proud to launch this project with ASEAN in combatting marine litter and micro plastics,” Norwegian Ambassador to ASEAN Morten Høglund said during the launch ceremony.

Norway will contribute US$3 million for ASEANO, which will be implemented in three years starting from 2019.

The main objective of this project, according to Ambassador Høglund, is to enhance cooperation with a range of stakeholders, both formal and informal, to improve plastic management practices along the whole plastic value chain.

“There will be a lot of research about plastic pollution, and the results will be shared with the public. So the project is a mixture of research as well as boosting local capacity building,” Høglund told the Post and Kompas after the launching event.

The project will be implemented in cooperation with the Norway Institute for Water Research, Jakarta-based Center of Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and Manila-based Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia.

ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi welcomed Norway’s initiative to reduce plastic pollution in Southeast Asia.

“The ASEANO project will add to ASEAN’s continuing efforts in addressing marine plastic debris and in promoting a transition to a circular economy by learning from Norway’s extensive experience and expertise,” Lim said in his opening remarks.

Thailand’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN Phasporn Sangasubana also expressed appreciation for Norway’s help and said there should be efforts to raise public awareness, so that there would be a behavioral change in the attitudes toward reducing marine debris.

The CSEAS, one of the implementing bodies from Indonesia, says it is ready to work with all stakeholders to achieve optimal results.

“We care about the environment. We have to work hard to reduce plastic pollution, and we are ready to provide all available help from CSEAS,” Arisman, the chairman of the CSEAS, told the Post.

Norway, a Scandinavian country that has the world’s biggest sovereign fund with assets of $1.02 trillion, is always on the front line to tackle climate change and support human rights, reforestation, environmental protection, sustainable energy, peace and reconciliation.

In 2010, Norway announced that it would contribute $1 billion to Indonesia’s conservation of forests and peatlands.

According to Høglund, Norway has similar projects to reduce plastic waste in Africa and Latin America.

Norway, Høglund continued, wanted to work with other countries that had similar programs in Southeast Asia.

When asked about the response of ASEAN countries to Norway’s initiative, Høglund said the response was amazing.

“All Southeast Asian countries responded positively, and they are strongly committed to reducing plastic pollution,” Høglund says.

Raising awareness about plastic pollution, especially among young people, was the key to success, he added.

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