A Conversation with Ghana’s and Sierra Leone’s Environment Protection Agencies on Marine Litter and Citizen Science
By Steph Pietras
From left to right: Omar Seidu (Ghana Statistical Service), Steph Pietras (Sustainable Development Solutions Network), Paul Lamin (Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone), Jewel Kudjawu (Environment Protection Agency of Ghana), Theophilus Blaudfaust (Statistics Sierra Leone), and Maryam Rabiee (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) on February 29, 2024 at the Data for Now side event during the 55th UN Statistical Commission
Steph Pietras, Program Associate for TReNDS, sat down with Ms. Jewel Kudjawu, Director of Intersectoral Network from the Ghana EPA, and Mr. Paul Lamin, Director of Natural Resources and Governance from the Sierra Leone EPA, to discuss citizen science and how Data for Now has impacted their work. Answers have been edited for grammar and clarity.
The Data for Now (D4N) initiative, launched in September 2019, aims to develop countries’ capacities to deliver quality and timely data to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the use of robust, innovative methods and tools to improve the timeliness, coverage, and quality of SDG indicators, local and national decision-makers are better able to design effective development strategies and policy programs that align with the 2030 Agenda. The D4N initiative is currently co-led by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
Countries supported through the D4N initiative are located in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Each country identifies its own work priorities that are urgently needed to achieve the SDGs. One such worksteam that has been identified by these countries as a high-priority is related to marine litter. With an estimated 11 million tons of plastic waste leaking into the ocean annually, many countries are affected by the marine litter problem due to the significant threat it poses to their wildlife and ecosystems. Under the United Nations’ SDG framework, SDG 14.1.1b focuses on measuring floating plastic debris density in order to monitor the extent of marine litter.
Unfortunately, many countries lack the official data and resources needed to address marine plastic pollution. Ghana produces an estimated 1.1 million tons of plastics annually. However, through the use of citizen science, they were able to incorporate data on marine litter into national statistics and report on SDG 14.1.1b. They were able to demonstrate the potential of citizen science data to address marine litter monitoring gaps by leveraging the SDG framework. Given Ghana’s success, other D4N country partners have expressed interest in replicating a similar citizen science data validation and reporting process for this indicator and potentially others. As such, SDSN is currently working with Ghana and Sierra Leone to scale up and replicate the work on monitoring marine litter for official reporting and statistics through the use of citizen science.
In November 2023, SDSN’S Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS) hosted a 2-day knowledge exchange event between stakeholders in Ghana and Sierra Leone to foster collaborative learning by sharing experiences, lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities for collecting marine litter data with a special focus on harnessing citizen science data. Through this exchange, stakeholders explored sustainable strategies for expanding data collection efforts and enhancing cross-country cooperation within the D4N Initiative.
Building off of this knowledge exchange event, SDSN sponsored the country partners from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of Sierra Leone to present their work at the 2024 UN Statistical Commission (UN55SC). Ms. Jewel Kudjawu, Director of Intersectoral Network from the Ghana EPA, and Mr. Paul Lamin, Director of Natural Resources and Governance from the Sierra Leone EPA, sat down with SDSN TReNDS to discuss how they integrated citizen science into their work.
What was the need behind utilizing citizen science?
Jewel Kudjawu: Our motivation was to report on the SDGs, the unavailability of data, and the need to explore other sources to fill in the gap. This led to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) setting priorities, which included reporting on 14.1.1b.
Paul Lamin: Data is a major limitation for policy action and enforcement in Sierra Leone, and the collection is often driven by international surveys and donor requirements which does not always cater to sustainability. There has been no baseline dataset on marine plastic litter to evaluate the current situation and to inform policy. Recognizing the importance of local knowledge and experience, utilizing citizen scientists offers diverse perspectives on the problem, impacts, and potential solutions. Additionally, citizen scientists can collect data across vast geographic areas and over extended periods.
How did the EPA and National Statistics Office (NSO) work together to resolve these issues? How were solutions implemented?
JK: CSOs in Ghana were already compiling marine debris data as part of their beach clean up activities and reporting to the Ocean Conservancy – the TIDES platform. Also, the new methodology based on citizen science developed by UNEP had been approved for use. The GSS, the Ghana EPA, The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), SDSN TReNDs, and key stakeholders in Ghana (CSOs, academia) convened a series of workshops to mobilize support and review the data and the methods for computation of SDG14.1.1b. This enabled the country to produce data on the SDGs based on the use of the citizen science methods for indicator 14.1.1b on both the 2022 VNR and the global repository. The GSS and EPA have had long standing relationship and therefore working together on this SDG was seamless.
PL: I think it's important to first determine your priorities, and examine the opportunities in terms of resources and manpower. The EPA of Sierra Leone is one of the responsible institutions to report on the SDGs and understands the need for partnerships, and working with Statistics Sierra Leone proved very helpful. As custodians of managing national data, they participated in all our events, including training and briefings, and provided valuable inputs, especially for developing an approach that can sustain and build partnerships with local authorities, CSOs, and local NGOs. The Data For Now project created a platform for knowledge exchange, learning, and sharing of experience with Ghana which has facilitated communication among institutions.
How are you learning from each other’s experiences?
JK: The Data for Now initiative has since supported Ghana to develop a feasibility report on using citizen science to monitor marine litter along the entire coastline and develop litter hotspots maps. The peer exchange with Sierra Leone provided an opportunity for further engagement with the CSOs engaged in this space, which has incentivized them to increase their activities and pay more attention to their data compilation.
PL: In Sierra Leone, challenges arise from not having a central body to coordinate reporting on the SDGs, particularly for environmental-related SDGs, with gaps in knowing which institutions are responsible for what. However, the platform created to enhance knowledge exchanges has facilitated experience sharing and learning. Through facilitated discussions and experience sharing between Ghana and Sierra Leone, this has helped us to learn and adopt the best and most practical means of sustaining future monitoring and other works. We hope to continue to share information and strengthen collaboration, learning, and adapting.
Paul Lamin (Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone) and Jewel Kudjawu (Environment Protection Agency of Ghana) on February 24, 2024 at the Data for Now side event during the 55th UN Statistical Commission