Wednesday October 30, 2024
Thanks to a fundraising campaign by Maria Nila for The Perfect World Foundation, $110,000 has been raised to build a…
PROJECT OCEAN
The Perfect World Foundation
PROJECT OCEAN
PROJECT OCEAN
The oceans are Earth’s lifeline, covering around 70% of the planets’s surface and playing a crucial role in maintaining the global ecological balance. However, these valuable ecosystems are under serious threats due to human impacts such as pollution, climate change, ghost nets, and other lost fishing gear.
In order to counteract these threats, The Perfect World Foundation has launched Project Ocean, a comprehensive initiative that includes 10 action points to preserve the marine environment and biodiversity. By supporting this project, we can all contribute to ensuring healthy oceans.
PROJECT OCEAN ADVOCATES
Recycling of marine debris
It’s estimated that each year 640,000,000 kg, or 640 000 metric tonnes, of discarded fishing equipment end up as “Ghost Nets” or “Ghost Fishing Gear” in the world’s oceans.
Through Sweden’s first marine recycling center, The Perfect World Foundation works to further develop the effort to locate, salvage, and recycle lost fishing equipment, also known as ghost nets. The marine recycling center is unique in its kind and plays an important role in the process of dealing with marine waste.
The material from the ghost nets, such as plastic and metals, can be recycled into unique products, thereby generating increased incentives for both businesses and consumers to help locate, salvage, and recycle lost fishing equipment.
Divers salvaging marine waste
Engage and support divers to locate and salvage lost fishing gear and other marine debris. By contributing to providing the right equipment and financial support, TPWF can continuously engage more divers to help our oceans. The experiences around this work can then be shared globally to create more knowledge and engagement.
Ocean and beach clean-ups
Through ‘The Blue Bucket’ project, TPWF aims to raise awareness among the general public, organizations, and companies, with the goal of involving more people in the efforts to collect plastic around beaches, coastlines, and out at sea by boat owners. This work is another critical part of raising awareness about the negative impact of ocean plastic. Currently, TPWF collaborates with businesses, organizations, and the public, but aim to further develop the project to involve, for example, school classes.
Innovations saving the oceans
Identify and support the development of new technology aimed at cleaning the ocean of harmful substances, trash, and other polluting waste, or preventing new waste from reaching the oceans. Through competitions and calls, TPWF aims to find the most effective innovations that can save the marine environment and support these towards a large-scale implementation to make a significant difference. An innovation could, for example, work to streamline the process of locating lost fishing equipment, containers, or prevent new fishing gear from being lost at sea.
Rehabilitate injured marine wildlife
Biodiversity is key to functioning ecosystems, but plastic waste and ghost nets inflict significant harm on marine wildlife. TPWF works both locally and globally to support and help build new rehabilitation centers with the purpose of rehabilitating injured marine wildlife. This could, for example, involve sea birds that have ingested plastic, or a sea turtle that has gotten trapped in a ghost net. A rehabilitation center also plays a crucial role when it comes to documenting the damage that marine waste has on wildlife – which can lead to increased awareness and political influence.
Supporting ocean scientists and spreading knowledge
There are several individuals, including marine scientists, who are working hard to increase global awareness about marine issues. TPWF has financially supported this work for many years. The ambition is to continue to support this work and expand the scope by getting more marine professionals to spread more knowledge. One example of a figure that TPWF works with is Dr. Sylvia Earle, who, over 80 years old, is still considered the world’s most influential marine scientist.
OUR PLASTICS EXPERT
Bethanie Carney Almroth
Associate Professor and Researcher at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Facilitating for fishermen to salvage marine waste
Engage and facilitate the work for fishermen to use their (in some cases underutilized) fishing boats to salvage lost fishing equipment. TPWF, for example, wants to focus on facilitating the handling of salvaged plastic and fishing equipment for fishermen. In some cases, this can also involve financial compensation or finding collaborations that make it easier for fishermen to recycle captured plastic. During periods when a fisherman’s fishing quotas have been reached, their fishing boats can lie unused – which is an untapped resource for salvaging ghost nets.
Stop the exploitation of marine life
Marine life such as whales and dolphins are hunted in the wild to be used by amusement parks, where they are forced to entertain and often live in cramped pools. In collaboration with organizations like the “Sea Life Trust”, TPWF works to reintroduce marine animals, such as orcas and beluga whales, to nature-like environments.
Planting coral reefs
Coral reefs play a crucial role in both biological diversity and in mitigating global warming. Through this project, TPWF aims to protect and restore biological diversity by cultivating corals and reintroducing them to their natural environment.
Reducing the CO2 burden in the oceans
‘Attenborough Forest’ – TPWF’s global tree planting project – aims, among other things, to reduce the negative effects of CO2 in the oceans, counteract acidification, and support marine biodiversity. By planting, for instance, mangrove trees, biodiversity is favored as this tree species provide essential habitats for thousands of marine species, mangrove trees also stabilize coastlines protecting land and people from waves and storms.
The Attenborough Forest tree planting project was launched in 2018 when Sir David Attenborough planted the ‘forest’s’ first tree in the Botanical Garden in Gothenburg, when visiting Sweden to receive The Perfect World Foundation Award. The project’s primary goal of planting 1 million trees was achieved in 2022.
THE PERFECT WORLD NEWS
Wednesday October 30, 2024
The Perfect World Foundation has named Captain Paul Watson as the recipient of the 2025 Perfect World Foundation Award, recognizing…
Friday September 20, 2024
The wildlife and nature organization, The Perfect World Foundation, is proud to announce that Captain Paul Watson, renowned marine conservationist…
Tuesday September 17, 2024
We are incredibly grateful to Ekobanken for being one of the sponsors of The Perfect World Foundation Award 2024. Their…
Monday September 16, 2024
We truly couldn’t have pulled off The Perfect World Foundation Award 2024 without your incredible dedication, kindness, and hard work….
Wednesday September 11, 2024
We want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of our incredible sponsors for making the TPWF 2024 Award Gala…
