It is no longer a stranger to anyone the thorny issue of plastic pollution. What one is from any part of the globe, this issue begins to scare seriously. We then understand the United Nations Environment Program (UN Environment) in the choice of the theme of the World Day of Environment 2018, a day that is always celebrated every June 5th of each year. This theme is "Fighting Plastic Pollution." Whether it is on fauna or flora, the effects of plastic weigh heavily.  About 13 million tonnes of plastics enter our oceans each year and harm biodiversity (UN Environment, 2018).  At this pace and according to some estimates of the World Economic Forum of the Allen McArthur Foundation, there will be more than plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050, and about 99% of seabirds will have ingested duplicates. 

There is then something to worry about, even in Africa, because a report by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Germany, estimates that "90% of the plastics polluting the oceans come from ten rivers, two of which in Africa: the Nile and Niger ".

Moreover, as we do not yet have reliable and efficient waste collection systems in our countries, plastic is invading all our ecosystems. Plastic waste asphyxiates species at the shoreline, which causes the disappearance of these species and in turn, the destruction of the abundant aquatic biodiversity that we have in Africa. These same wastes, thrown into nature, prevent the permeability of soils to water, with an unequal distribution of water at the level of the physical layers. It leads to the disruption of plant biodiversity. 

In Benin, what strikes the most, and which touches me mainly, is the high proportion of plastic waste in our streets, on the piles of garbage. Throughout my country, plastic has unfortunately become an element of our environment. It is because of the scale of the problem that Beninese parliamentarians voted a law in November 2017 banning all use of non-biodegradable bags in the Republic of Benin.

 

It is therefore more than ever time to tackle plastic pollution in Benin and to provide unique solutions to preserve our environment from an unprecedented disaster and also preserve the great conservation opportunity we have.