How marine pollution drives circular economy infrastructure

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Africa’s circular economy is becoming an ally to wildlife and nature conservation. Conservationists have started to treat marine pollution as a systems challenge, prioritising upstream prevention over clean-ups. This approach inspired 15 Africa-focused commitments worth $42.5 million at the 11th Our Ocean Conference.

• With land-based sources accounting for 60–80% of the world’s marine pollution, Africa’s coastal systems are similarly shaped by waste flows originating inland, hence a need for upstream interventions.

• Coastal clean-up approaches have remained predominantly reactive, limiting their ability to address upstream drivers of waste entering marine ecosystems and reducing long-term effectiveness in preventing repeated leakage.

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