Page - 116 - in Freshwater Microplastics - Emerging Environmental Contaminants?

1 h [57]. While REAs capture low-resolution data, they do provide a means of grading levels ofmanagement urgency and response.Moreover, the surveyors need notbeexperts andcouldbe sourced fromthe local communitywithin aprogramset by themunicipalityor regionalgovernment–althoughsuchaction requirespolitical will andpublic awareness (as discussed in the following sections).ThusREAswith criteria (pressures and species indicators) tailored for site-specific thresholds could become a valuable tool in determiningwhichAfrican freshwater locations require remediation fromMPpollution. 4.1.2 PoliticalWill andGovernance Most ofAfrican freshwater bodies are transboundary (see Table 1), and therefore their management requires cooperation and effective, coherent regional environ- mental policies [58]. However, the management of most African transboundary lakes and rivers ecosystems is largely compromised by conflicting political stand- ings among the riparian countries [59]. A good example of this is LakeVictoria which is shared by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. Its management has been challenging due to a lack of good cooperation and harmonized policies mainly followingthecollapseofEastAfricanCommunityof1977.Despite its reformation, there are still country-specific political issues hindering the management of the lake.This is also the case forotherAfricanGreatLakes likeLakeTanganyikaand LakeMalawi.However,whenpolicies,conventions,andcooperationsdooccur, the major focus is often on hownatural resources can be shared [60], rather than the control of pollutants. Thus, at an international level, the political will to combat issues likeMPpollution is not strongand is equally problematic at the local level. In most African countries, MP pollution is not recognized as emergent issue of concern,althoughtheefforts to levy,reduce,andbantheuseofplasticbags[26,27] would suggest that the plastic issue is not entirely ignored. It is perhaps stereotypical to consider, but in manyAfrican nations, the chal- lenges faced are greater thanMPpollution –war, famine, literacy rate, infrastruc- ture, clean drinkingwater, poverty, and corruption [61].Moreover, most African countries have insufficient budgets fromwhich to plan and execute governmental projects including research activities.Anumber of countries receive financial aid, andunder thesecircumstances,andunderstandably, thestudyofMPpollutionisnot of the highest priority. Based on this, the current financial challenges ofworking with MPs in African waters may not be solved by local budgets but rather by bringing together different stakeholders (i.e., local community, local and national governments, NGOs, researchers), in order to first collect data, evaluate steps forward, and implement effectivemeasure tohaltMPpollution. 116 F.R.Khanet al.