The National Environment Service (NES) and Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) are proud to launch a video outlining the planning phase of the national GEF 8 Plastics RESPONSE Project, under the global GEF 8 Circular Solutions to Plastic Pollution integrated programme.
The RESPONSE project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and supported by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), aims to reduce the amount of single use and problematic plastics from the food and beverage sector that enter the Cook Islands and contribute to our mounting waste problem.
NES have partnered with TIS to conduct the consultations for this project and support the preparation of documents for its submission to UNEP & GEF. The team conducted in person stakeholder consultations in Rarotonga and Aitutaki throughout February, March and April, and are recently ran a national public survey as part of the final consultations, which has received over 300 responses so far!
The video captures some of these discussions as well as the hopes of participants in what they’d like to see in the coming years through the life of the RESPONSE project. The teams at both NES & TIS are sincerely grateful for the wealth of input provided by stakeholders in this project planning process, and are excited for what the future holds for a plastic free environment.
