RIMED. Monitoring of Garbage at the Mouths of Rivers in the Mediterranean.
Pleamar program
Throughout the two years of the duration of the project, data will be collected on the banks and riverbeds of the mouths of the Llobregat, Ebro, Júcar and Segura rivers, through fortnightly monitoring. To this end, a specific methodology will be created for the characterisation of the waste found. All the information obtained will be recorded in an integrated database, which will be created based on common criteria between the eLitter application and the RIMMEL protocol, which allows the standardization and future replicability of the monitoring of garbage in rivers, incorporating citizen science and technological innovation criteria.
At the same time, the project includes the organization of four focus groups in the municipalities where the fieldwork will be carried out with local fishermen, associations of women fishermen and other local associations, in collaboration with the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds, to share the problem of the garbage that these rivers contribute to the marine environment.
The RIMED project also aims to involve schools, local associations and other actors in the environment in environmental awareness and volunteering actions. Thus, for all the aforementioned groups, cleaning drives will be organized in the surroundings of the mouths of the rivers studied. These cleaning actions inherently result in the awareness of the attendees towards the care of their environment, since they will observe the reality of abandoned waste on the ground. Awareness will be reinforced with the sharing of the waste found and the effect of this abandoned waste on the marine environment. Attendees will also carry out citizen science work, as they will make use of the eLitter or Marnoba applications (depending on the type of scenario where the cleaning drive is carried out), which will collect the data obtained.
In short, the project contributes to the reduction of the entry of marine litter into the Mediterranean Sea through the scientific and systematic monitoring of waste in riverbeds and riverbanks, in line with the objectives of the EU Marine Strategy, promoting knowledge, prevention at source and the involvement of the fishing sector and other key actors of the Natura 2000 Network.
INTEMARES complementary project.
It acts as a collaborating entity: National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds (FNCP).
Line of action:
Marine ecosystemsStatus:
En ejecuciónLocation
Catalonia, Valencian CommunityResearch line
Axis 5. WasteExecution date:
2026End date:
2028Project web page:
https://www.programapleamar.es/proyectos/rimed-monitorizacion-de-basuras-en-desembocaduras-de-rios-en-el-mediterraneoThe general objective of the project is to obtain information on the litter that the rivers of the Levantine-Balearic demarcation contribute to the marine environment to contribute to a better conservation of biological, water and marine resources and to the protection of the maritime areas of the Natura 2000 Network. This objective is aligned with descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Directive 2008/56/EC), which states that, in order to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES), Member States must ensure that marine litter – both floating and submerged and present on beaches – does not have harmful effects on marine and coastal ecosystems (European Union, 2008).
RIMED also contributes to the objectives of the EU Mission “Restoring our oceans and waters by 2030”, especially in its line of action focused on the prevention and elimination of pollution, which promotes actions from rivers as the main vectors of garbage entry into the sea (European Commission, 2021).
On the other hand, it is aligned with the recommendations contained in the Marine Litter Action Plan, developed by the MSFD Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, which promotes the implementation of systematic monitoring programmes and the adoption of measures at source to prevent the entry of waste into the marine environment (Marine Strategy Framework Directive Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, 2013).
In short, the project contributes to the reduction of the entry of marine litter into the Mediterranean Sea through the scientific and systematic monitoring of waste in riverbeds and riverbanks, in line with the objectives of the EU Marine Strategy, promoting knowledge, prevention at source and the involvement of the fishing sector and other key actors.
Specific objectives:
OE1. To carry out a systematic and standardised monitoring of rubbish in the riverbed and riverbank at the mouths of the Júcar and Besòs rivers.
OE2. To develop an integrated database, based on common criteria between the eLitter application and the RIMMEL protocol, which allows the standardization and future replicability of the monitoring of garbage in rivers.
OE3. Obtain valuable information on waste at river mouths and make it available to the competent authorities at the end of the project.
OE4. To collect and analyse the empirical knowledge of the fishing sector on the presence of litter at the mouths of rivers and its impact on fishing activities, through the organisation of focus groups with local fishermen.
OE5. Encourage citizen participation in the cleaning and conservation of the areas near the mouths of the monitored rivers, involving educational centres, local associations and other actors in the environment.
OE6. Design and implement a comprehensive communication plan for the project.
RIMED. Monitoring of Garbage at the Mouths of Rivers in the Mediterranean.
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