Communication Campaign: Reducing Marine Waste In Viet Nam

Abstract

Ocean plastic waste is a burning problem for the environment in general and the marine environment in particular. It seriously affects the habitat and the survival of wildlife. Protecting the ocean, reducing waste, especially plastic waste is an effective solution to protect the future living environment of humanity. Vietnam is a coastal country with a coastline stretching over 3,200 km that brings many economic benefits from tourism, mining of minerals and seafood. However, people's awareness of marine environmental protection is not enough. Vietnam is one of the countries with the largest amount of plastic waste in the world and ranked 4th out of the top 20 countries, with about 730,000 tons of plastic waste being dumped into the sea every year. The main reason leading to Vietnam's huge amount of waste discharged into the ocean is due to the production method of goods, the management method, the capacity to handle plastic waste and the awareness 8 9 of people and businesses. Recognizing this issue, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1746/QD-TTg on "Issuing the National Action Plan on ocean plastic waste management to 2030". Accordingly, the overall goal of the project plan is to effectively implement Vietnam's initiatives and commitments to the world in dealing with plastic waste problems, with a focus on ocean plastic waste, ensuring the prevention of plastic waste, preventing the discharge of plastic waste from waste sources on land and activities at sea, striving to make Vietnam a pioneer in the region in reducing ocean plastic waste. To prevent ocean plastic pollution, government, management agencies, and local authorities are coordinating with international organizations to launch projects and action programs. One of the key solutions is to change awareness, help people better understand the harmful effects of ocean plastic waste, and understand more about the government's policies and regulations on this issue. In order to raise awareness and call for action of all Vietnamese people, the Directorate of Seas and Islands, in collaboration with WWF and many other parties, decided to conduct communication with the project "Reducing Marine Waste In Vietnam". to join hands with everyone to repel plastic waste into the environment, helping not only improve the living environment, but also help the natural environment become more beautiful. During the implementation of the campaign, the project implementers faced many difficulties: Information can sometimes be overlooked, misunderstood and not meet expectations in terms of interaction. But most mportantly, this project can help raise awareness about plastic waste and create motivation to convert plastic to more environmentally friendly utensils Our team, Hat Mem Team (Multimedia students K14, FPT University) participated as interns in the project "Reducing Marine Waste In Vietnam" from December 20th, 2021 to February 14th, 2022 of MDI in cooperation with VASI. Based on the multimedia communication background learned at FPT University, we have the opportunity to apply our knowledge to specific works. The results of the communication campaign were recorded during the campaign from December 20th, 2021 to February 14th, 2022. In this campaign, we participate in the following activities: • Interview, survey, provide information and knowledge about plastic waste • Online newspapers • Social media product In general, the campaign results were successful, especially we received positive feedback from the VASI, partners and above all from the public. Although there are some shortcomings in the implementation process, for us, changing people's thinking about protecting the marine environment, limiting plastic waste and learning from the shortcomings to improve ourselves is the most important thing