How fighting plastic pollution can conserve biodiversity

Following the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, the urgency of addressing pollution and biodiversity loss has never been clearer. According to the latest Global Risks Report, pollution now ranks among the top 10 global environmental threats, with far-reaching consequences for biodiversity, human health, and the global economy. Even more critically, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse have been identified as the second most severe long-term risk facing our world.

Plastic pollution is a silent disruptor of ecosystems, threatening biodiversity on land and in water by altering habitats, introducing toxins, and breaking critical links in food chains. In line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which underscores the need for coordinated global action to address biodiversity challenges, including its Goal 7 on reducing pollution and Goal 19 on mobilizing financial resources, tackling plastic pollution is no longer optional—it is imperative.

Moreover, plastic pollution is a pervasive issue affecting both natural and urban environments. Urban areas, as centres of innovation and consumer activity, present unique opportunities to develop and implement scalable solutions to combat plastic pollution.

From the depths of the ocean to remote wilderness untouched by humans, plastic waste infiltrates and disrupts the natural world in invisible yet devastating ways. Microplastics have seeped into our soil, rivers and seas, quietly unsettling the intricate web of life that keeps ecosystems in balance. For wildlife, the stakes are life or death: animals are ensnared by plastic debris or ingest it, mistaking it for food, resulting in injuries, toxic poisoning or starvation. The ripple effects don’t stop there – entire ecosystems falter under the accumulation of plastic waste, losing their resilience to sustain biodiversity or provide critical functions like absorbing carbon and purifying water. Plastic pollution isn’t just littering the planet; it’s unravelling its life support systems.

Urban areas, as hubs of human activity and waste generation, are both contributors to and victims of this growing crisis. In urban green and blue spaces, agricultural lands or tourist sites like national parks, plastic pollution becomes most apparent and affects the physical, mental and social health and well-being of the urban population and rural communities. If sensitized to the impact of plastic pollution on biodiversity, they are also uniquely positioned to lead the charge in tackling plastic pollution and restoring biodiversity through innovative policies and localized action.

Buenaventura, the main port of Colombia’s Pacific coast, is located in the Chocó biogeographical region, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. Despite its ecological richness, Buenaventura faces stark socio-economic challenges, ranking among the least developed municipalities in the Valle del Cauca and the country.

The waste management crisis underscores these challenges. Producing 163,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, Buenaventura operates without a permanent landfill. The sanitary landfill, having reached its capacity, has been replaced by emergency cells – an alternative to landfills used to dispose of waste in emergencies, which offer only a temporary solution. While the local government has expanded landfill capacity in recent years, the lack of a sustainable, long-term waste management system leaves ecosystems and communities vulnerable.

Faced with these pressing issues, María Teresa Sinisterra, Executive Director of GESAMPA, and Emiliano Zambrano, Director of GESAMPA, launched Gestores Ambientales del Pacífico (GESAMPA) in 2017 to address the interconnected challenges of extreme poverty, inequality and environmental degradation. Founded with a vision to drive change holistically, GESAMPA focuses on ecosystem restoration while creating economic opportunities to enhance the quality of life for local communities.

Buenaventura highlights the challenges of bringing sustainable solutions to remote regions. In this high-biodiversity area, GESAMPA stands out as a transformative community initiative, turning plastic waste into an opportunity that benefits both the environment and the local economy. By combining sustainability with a smart business model, GESAMPA proves that tackling plastic pollution can also empower communities and drive real change, even in challenging contexts.

GESAMPA has steadily grown into a regional leader in waste collection and recycling. Its facility employs six permanent and four temporary workers, and provides economic support to 300 families involved in waste collection activities. Originally limited to the urban centre of Buenaventura, GESAMPA now operates 12 collection points in nearby urban areas, significantly expanding its reach.

The organization processes a variety of materials, including cardboard, aluminium, paper, tetra-packs and plastics, positioning itself as a vital player in regional waste management. Its programs extend beyond recycling to include innovative community-driven initiatives, such as:

• Don Trueque Store: A mobile shop that trades food for post-consumer waste, engaging 500 families and collecting 2,800 kilograms of recyclable materials.

• Ecogol: A football tournament requiring teams to “pay” their entry fee with collected plastic waste, raising awareness among 520 youth and recovering 5,800 kilograms of waste.

• Guardians of the Mangrove: A program that mobilizes 120 women to remove nearly 6,900 kilograms of waste from mangrove ecosystems, restoring critical habitats while generating income.

This was collected between the period of 2017 and 2019.

GESAMPA’s success illustrates the transformative potential of localized, community-driven action in addressing plastic pollution and socio-economic inequality, helping build a sustainable future where both people and nature thrive. By combining waste management with ecosystem restoration and livelihood generation, GESAMPA is creating a replicable model for resilience. Resilience, in this context, refers to the capacity of communities to adapt to and recover from environmental and socio-economic challenges, paving the way for long-term sustainability and improved well-being.

However, scaling initiatives like GESAMPA requires more than local innovation – it demands robust global support. Local communities often face significant barriers, such as limited access to financing, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient technical expertise, which constrain their ability to address systemic issues effectively. Global support can bridge these gaps by mobilizing financial resources, fostering technology transfer, and providing capacity-building opportunities. Access to financing, technical expertise and alignment with international frameworks, such as the KMGBF, is essential. These tools enable local organizations to expand their impact, address systemic challenges, and contribute to global biodiversity and climate goals.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) and urban ecosystem restoration are vital tools in the fight against plastic pollution. Initiatives like GESAMPA demonstrate how these approaches can yield dual benefits: reducing plastic waste pollution while enhancing biodiversity. For example, reforesting urban peripheries not only improves ecosystem services such as air quality improvement and temperature regulation, but also complements sustainable waste management practices, creating a virtuous cycle that benefits both ecosystems and communities.

In urban areas, where plastic waste often accumulates unchecked, integrating NbS with innovative community programs offers a powerful pathway toward recovery. These solutions not only safeguard biodiversity but also bolster urban resilience against climate-related challenges, such as flooding and heatwaves.

The impact of initiatives like GESAMPA sends a clear message: with the right support, localized action can become a powerful force for global change.

Addressing the dual challenges of biodiversity loss and plastic pollution demands alignment between global frameworks and local implementation. The Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), the World Economic Forum’s initiative to combat plastic pollution, exemplifies how multi-stakeholder platforms can bridge this gap.

Since its inception in 2018, GPAP has been at the forefront of translating global commitments into actionable strategies. Through National Plastic Action Partnerships (NPAPs), GPAP collaborates with governments, private sectors and civil society to create tailored roadmaps that address plastic pollution while considering local contexts and priorities.

In January 2024, GPAP partnered with the government of Colombia to establish NPAP Colombia, implemented locally by WWF Colombia. This partnership brings together government, civil society, academia and the private sector to collaboratively develop an Action Roadmap to reduce plastic pollution, set for release in 2025.

Expanding its scope, GPAP is also addressing the critical nexus between plastic pollution and biodiversity. With support from the government of Canada, this new workstream focuses on protecting ecosystems by targeting biodiversity hotspots most impacted by plastic pollution. These efforts aim to safeguard livelihoods, enhance ecosystem resilience, and align with global biodiversity and sustainability objectives.

By bridging global frameworks with local expertise and action, GPAP exemplifies how systemic change can drive meaningful environmental progress.