New Boat sets sail in Lake Victoria to raise awareness on pollution menace in East Africa
By Dickson Odhiambo
March 4, 2021
New Boat sets sail in Lake Victoria to raise awareness on pollution menace in East Africa
A New Boat known as Flip flopi considered as the world’s first sailing boat made from 100% recycled plastic has joined forces with the United Nations Environment Programme’s Clean Seas Campaign.
The boat has embarked on an expedition by sailing around Africa’s largest freshwater ecosystem, the Lake Victoria.
The voyage aims to send an urgent message to the East Africa community on the need to end the unnecessary single-use plastic scourge that is threatening the region.
Lake Victoria, supporting 40 million East Africans, symbolizes the catastrophic effects of human activities and climate change, among other issues, resulting in significant water pollution which threatens the health and livelihoods of communities.
A recent study estimated that 1 in 5 of the fish in Lake Victoria had ingested plastic. Another recent study ubiquitously recorded micro-plastics in surface waters in several sites of Lake Victoria. At the heart of the plastic waste problem is the linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model of consumption, as products get manufactured, bought, used briefly, and then thrown away.
The Flipflopi is an initiative showcasing alternative uses of plastic waste and the possibilities of circular economy approaches.
Over a three-week period, Flipflopi will sail from Kisumu, Kenya to several locations in Uganda and Tanzania, raising awareness and inspiring communities to adopt circular-waste solutions to beat plastic pollution.
Speaking today in Kisumu during the official launch of the project, Kisumu Governor Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o said this Lake Victoria matters a lot to many residents of the East African Community.
Nyong’o says the Lake has been battling adverse effects of climate change which some scientists link to the current worrying rise in the water levels that has caused a massive flooding within the Lake Basin.
“It must matter to us all. Investing in research and development on blue economy investments, improving the health of the lake and riparian environment while ensuring that investments are ‘Lake Friendly’ from inception are amongst my priorities” said Prof Nyong’o, the Governor of Kisumu County.
Joyce Msuya, the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to address the myriad environmental crises, which can only be done through regional and global consensus on key issues like single-use plastic, and climate change.
“Flipflopi is a great African example of the circular economy in action; we are proud to see it start this new journey around Lake Victoria, a shared resource that we must do all we can to protect,” she says
She adds that the Lake Victoria expedition will include several stops along the lake engaging community leaders, conservationists, business leaders and policymakers, demonstrating alternate uses of waste plastic and other circular waste models calling for an end to single-use plastics.
Ali Skanda, co-founder of the Flipflopi project and builder of the world’s first recycled plastic dhow says Flipflopi was built to show the world that it is possible to make valuable materials out of waste plastic, and that single-use plastic really does not make sense.
He says by sailing around the lake, they aim to inspire people to create their own waste-plastic innovations and adopt circular solutions that will build greener businesses, whilst also taking plastic out of the environment.
“Together with communities across the Lake Victoria region we hope to bring awareness and innovative solutions to beat pollution and support a green recovery in East Africa. Flipflopi is an example of innovative circular solutions applied at a national level to the pollution challenge,” he says.
In Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, CIST Africa are making hand sanitizer from invasive water hyacinth.
Innovators like Sanergyare turning Nairobi’s untreated organic waste into organic fertilizer for crops, feed for livestock, and fuel briquettes for energy.
In Uganda, the women who set up Reform Africa are turning plastic waste into sustainable and waterproof bags, whilst providing school children in rural areas with bags for free.
In Tanzania, a collective of local artisans known as ‘Made by Africraft’ are introducing youth and the unemployed to developing sustainable handicrafts to create a livelihood.
Flipflopi, the Clean Seas Campaign and partners aims to showcase green innovations as they sail around the lake, and inspire communities and businesses to act against plastic pollution.As part of the expedition, the Flipflopi expedition will launch a petition calling for a regional ban on single-use plastics.
Flipflopi initiative is supported and by various partners including the national governments of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, UNEP, The UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the French Development Agency(AFD), The European Union, UN Live, as well as the private sector, including the law firm Anjarwalla and Khanna.
The Flipflopi project is a circular economy initiative based in East Africa whose vision is a world without single-use plastic.
They showcase alternate uses of waste plastic and the viability of a circular economy in Africa through education programs, Kenyan-based plastic recycling and waste management ‘innovation hubs’ and advocacy and governance programs.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations
The World’s first recycled plastic sailing dhow will promote circular solutions and call for an end to unnecessary single-use plastic in the region.
The expedition is promoting regional collaboration to address plastic pollution.
Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake, is facing a myriad of environmental and social challenges that could impact the 40 million people living in the region.
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