On 19th April 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA), Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety signed an agreement titled “Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment” on Technical cooperation over a virtual event in New Delhi.
- Aim:To enhance the practices to prevent plastics from entering the marine environment.
- The project is expected to be a collaborative effort under the Indo-German bilateral development corporation on sustainable urban transformation.
Note:
2021 marks the 63 years of development cooperation between India and Germany.
Cities Combating Plastic Entering the Marine Environment:
i.Features:
- This project will be undertaken at national level in selected states (Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and will be implemented in the cities of Kanpur, Kochi, Port Blair.
- Project period: three and half years.
ii.The outcomes of the project are in line with
- The objectives of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban with a focus on sustainable solid waste management.
- The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to phase out single use plastic by 2022.
iii.This project is planned under the outline of the Joint Declaration of Intent regarding the cooperation in the field of Prevention of Marine Litter” signed between India and Germany in 2019.
Marine Pollution:
i.It is estimated that 15-20% of all plastics are entering oceans through rivers of which 90% are contributed by 10 most polluting rivers.
ii.2 of the most polluting river system are located in India: Ganga and Brahmaputra
Recent Related News:
On November 6, 2020, Frankfurt-based German state-owned development bank KfW (formerly KfWBankengruppe) extended two loans totaling 545 Million Euros (~ INR 4, 767 crore) to the Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for infrastructure projects in Mumbai.
About Germany:
President– Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Capital– Berlin
Currency– Euro
