The German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt – UBA) is the German partner within the CAPonLITTER project. Being neighboring country to both seas, the work of UBA`s marine protection unit concerns both the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
The institution:
The public body was founded in 1974. It is based in Dessau-Rosslau, Saxony-Anhalt and employs around one thousand people. UBA is concerned with an extremely broad spectrum of issues, including environmental pollution, waste avoidance, climate protection, and pesticide approvals.
UBA’s work centers around gathering data, investigating relevant relationships, making projections and - based on these findings - providing scientific advises to federal bodies such as the Ministry of the Environment in support of political decision-making. In addition, the organization makes robust knowledge available nationally and internationally by providing information to the general public. UBA is also conducting research in own labs and by outsourcing research and development projects to scientific institutions.
The work on marine litter
UBA is co-chairing the EU Technical Group and the national working group on Marine Litter in charge for implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and is involved in the regional work on marine litter for the Northeast-Atlantic (OSPAR) and the Baltic Sea (HELCOM) as well as in global processes, such as the G7 and G20 work on reducing marine litter pollution and improving Circular Economy principles.
UBA also co-founded and co-chairs the National Round Table on Marine Litter and is strongly involved in one of its sub-working group on Municipal Requirements to prevent and reduce marine litter, which published a guide for municipalities with best practices in September 2019 (German). The guide shares successful experiences such as deposit-refund schemes for drink containers, special beach collection boxes, reusable catering systems, and "zero plastics to landfill" strategies, which are highly relevant for the CAPonLITTER project goals.
The Team:
From UBA’s side, Stefanie Werner, Catharina Rubel and Daniel Sommer are involved in the CAPonLITTER project. Stefanie Werner has been UBA’s expert on marine litter for the past ten years. She is representing Germany in international and national marine litter activities and bodies and supervises according research. Catharina Rubel is responsible for the CAPonLITTER project including the project’s events, communication, reporting and the development of a national action plan. Additionally, Daniel Sommer is supporting the German team with respect to reporting and budgeting.
Check out UBA’s website for more information or follow UBA on Twitter and Facebook.
