Some of our programs involve coral transplantation. In Thailand it is illegal to touch or damage coral, so we had to seek approval for some of our programs.
To receive approval from the government involves first submitted a proposal for a coral reef restoration zone. Including with this proposal are the techniques for transplantation, the people involved and their experience and qualifications, and a long term plan for monitoring and maintenance.
The DMCR has fully approved our restoration related activities and we conduct transplant research and provide them with that data.
Coral restoration experience
Long term plan
Proposal to government
Assessment and approval
This is a long process to get approved. Being able to show that our programs are successful and being assessed and approved took over 2 years of communication, submissions, and assessments.
To be able to obtain permission requires a group of committed volunteers that have relevant experience and are willing to participate in the program for a long term period of time.
Through our community events and actions, locals and tourists can be better educated about how to reduce their impact on their local environment.
Using social media and outreach efforts, we have improved the stakeholders understanding of the need to look after their environment in the long term, as their economy lies so heavily on it.
Communication
Education
Outreach
Its important to realise that stakeholders actions will not change overnight. Relationships need to be formed over time and an understanding of their traditional methods of ocean activities must be acknowledged.
Showing local stakeholders better practices which are cost free gives them the opportuntity to see that change doesnt necessarily have to affect them financially.
About 70% of Tanzanian land falls under village land owned and managed by local communities. Due to this, the Tanzanian Land Act allows for ownership and management of land by communities through local governing bodies. To secure Land Rights for these communities therefore means that a village must have a Village Land Certificate which defines the official boundaries of each village and to get that, conflict resolution must be carried out for neighbouring villages to amicably agree on the boundaries of their respective villages. After that, Communities are supported to undertake a village Land Use Plan guided by the National Land Use Planning guidelines. Having done that, communities are then supported to secure through a communal certificate of Customary Right of Occupancy (CCRO) a communal title to their land in which they continue to practice their traditional practices that are friendly and help conserve the environment. These communal CCROs are connected to each other to support mobility of livestock and wildlife from one area to another which helps these animals access crucial shared resources such as water points and salt licks
In order to enable the success of these building blocks participation is essential. We believe that empowerment is crucial for equitable engagement and representation for effective resource management. Conflict resolution is also a key piece of the process We meditate conflicts in order to gain stronger participation and for collective action in the sustainable management of community connected land.
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT—Significant effort has been invested in supporting communities to secure formal rights over land, but tenure security alone does not mean that those lands are productive and healthy, particularly given the growing pressures created by human population growth, livestock impacts, land-use pressures, and climate change. Does work need to be done to improve the condition and sustainably manage rangelands and natural resources once they have been secured? And if so, what should UCRT’s role be in this? Building on the development of land-use plans and bylaws, UCRT expanded its approach by:
• Ensuring communities protect connectivity between migratory livestock routes;
• Integrating scientific knowledge with customary management approaches to improve pasture; and
• Mainstreaming information related to climate change impacts and population growth.
Asset balance sheets log the stocks of assets and their values in the national accounts. Whereas flows of economic production--goods and services--have been used as primary indicators of the "health" of an economy, these measures do not take into account depreciation or degradation of the asset base form which these flows stem. Changes in the asset balance sheet would reflect, for example, the reduction in value of depleted fisheries stocks.
An asset balance sheet is useful for natural capital accounting and assessing the blue economy requires periodic assessments of asset stocks that are systematically collected and comparable. This would mean regular assessments of fishery stocks, undersea ocean and mineral deposits, and port infrastructure to name a few. Monetary accounts require prices for non-market natural capital assets.
While monetary accounts are the ideal, physical accounts (e.g. kg spawning stock biomass) can be useful where market prices do not exist.
Tracking changes in the asset balance sheet are more important than a comprehensive asset balance sheet compiled as a one-off exercise. These data must be collected with regularity to be useful for tracking the sustainability of the blue economy.
Plastic credit allows a company to neutralize its plastic production and concurrently connects its brands and products with the social and environmental impact embedded within the process of producing the credits. Plastic credits are based on the weight of the plastic that a company produces. The money spent on the plastic credits will then go toward environmental projects that will eliminate an equal amount of orphan plastics as a company produces. If a company purchases plastic credits equal to the amount of plastic that they produce, then they are considered plastic neutral. Ideally, we would be working toward eliminating orphan plastics entirely, while plastic credits only serve to assist in managing the disposal of orphan plastics. However, they are a positive short-term remedy while we, as a world community, determine a more sustainable solution.
Corporate collaborators. Their support enables TONTOTON to develop and implement more projects continuing the chain of positive environmental and social impact.
Plastic Credit Framework. It is imperative to define to which framework the company will operate upon the production of plastic credits. TONTOTON chose to remove ocean-bound orphan plastic waste from the environment as we see the highest environmental and social impact in it.
It is important to work with companies who take sustainability seriously and not just jumping into the bandwagon of this conversation. Not because they can neutralize the plastic elements in their supply chain that they cannot immediately remove, they have the excuse to just produce more without any plastic recycling or reduction plan in place. These solutions must go hand-in-hand in order to achieve the best impact that our planet deserves.
Our activities are audited by a 3rd Party Control Body as part of the Ocean Bound Plastic Neutrality Standard. Credibility is key. Corporations participating in the TONTOTON plastic neutralizing program receive certificates to verify the quantity of waste collected, transported, received, and converted into AFRM, allowing quantifiable and reliable reporting to all stakeholders of your business. Neutralization Certificates are kept in a Public Registry to ensure no double counting.
Globally-recognized protocol on ocean-bound neutrality. This governs the definition of ocean-bound plastic and all activities surrounding the production of the plastic credits.
Third-party auditor/control body. They are the checks and balance that ensures all procedures in the production of plastic credits are compliant to the protocol. Only then the certified credits are recorded to the public registry to avoid double selling.
In this industry, there is always tendency of greenwashing as corporations are cramming to be labeled “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” in order to remain relevant and competitive among consumers with growing demands for sustainability, not to mention to comply and respond to the global pressure on sustainability.
Thus, TONTOTON deems that an independent certificate audited by a globally-acclaimed third-party control body is a must to establish accountability. This helps us to be always on our toes in terms of ensuring all our activities are proper and aligned with the protocol.
TONTOTON also urges our business clients to sign a sustainability commitment, with the understanding that plastic credit is only a part of its overall action plan towards reducing or removing plastic in their bsupply chain.
Co-processing is a safe, eco-friendly waste treatment, in line with the Basel Convention Technical Guidelines. It has been recognized as a recovery operation under EU legislation. This solution enables to avoid of open-air plastic burn and provides a greener solution for the cement industry.
It is a technology that converts manufacturing waste (like orphan plastic) into alternative fuels and raw materials (AFRM). Simply put, it’s when the trash is burned for its energy fuel rather than sources like petroleum and coal. The benefits of co-processing plastic are multiple: it reduces CO2 emissions by burning plastic rather than coal, it minimizes the use of non-renewable resources, it reduces plastic waste, and it’s a zero-waste practice since even the ashes are used in cement manufacturing. Cement factories offer the perfect solution to plastic management. Burning plastic for fuel rather than coal is a cleaner option, and it properly eliminates plastic that otherwise would have ended up in landfills, as ocean-bound plastic. The leftover ashes are mixed into the cement, ensuring that the entire process is zero-waste.
Utlimately, the world benefits because plastic waste is being eliminated and fewer non-renewable resources are being used.
Upgraded Co-processing technology. The cement factory partner should have the technology and management system required to treat the waste.
Recovery or waste-to-energy solutions are not popular solutions and receive great criticisms among environmentalists. Use of words is very critical in this industry, and it is important to emphasize that co-processing is far different from incineration. The process is done in a controlled environment, governed by globally-approved standards and monitored 24/7.
While we agree that the ultimate solution to plastic problem is to eliminate them from the source. But we also need to recognize that there is a nagging problem of plastic pollution, NOW. Co-processing is what we found best to treat large quantities of non-recyclable plastic wastes right now, and we would be happy to discover a better solution in the future.
We work in poor waste-management areas with informal waste-pickers, who can benefit from better earnings. TONTOTON has created a new market for the orphan plastics incentivizing waste pickers for its collection of which formerly, they would otherwise ignore.
Under the program waste pickers are provided with:
equipment for safer working conditions: masks, shoes, gloves
access to the minimum health insurance
sustainable earnings to fight poverty
training for sorting, safety and more
Connection with local waste pickers groups
Local government permission and support
Local community awareness and willingness to take action
When collaborating with local communities, it is imperative to first understand the local context -- their actual needs and challenges and then start planning your project from there.
While our cause is good, we are foreign to them and it is important to involve and educate them to the objectives and benefits of the project that is personal to them to get them on-board and later on would own the project and take accountability within their own surroundings.
Single-use plastic is too light, and its value too low to be collected and recycled. It has no market value, making it "Orphan Plastic" that is more likely to become marine litter. Ocean-bound describes plastic’s last stage before it ends up in the ocean. It appears in rivers, shorelines, and even land. While most of the ocean-bound plastic (OBP) originates within 50km of the shore, OBP may come from a location more inland, but because of mismanagement, it’s now headed toward our ocean. The best way to guarantee that plastics stay out of the ocean is to stop the issue at its source. Unfortunately, single-use plastics are too convenient, which means that we’re still years away from eliminating non-recyclable plastics entirely.
While we wait for a viable substitute for non-recyclable plastics, we focus our efforts upon projects that seek to stop mismanaged OBP before it hits our ocean.
Collection site identification. TONTOTON team will select sites based on the OBP certification and proximity with the factory.
Upgraded co-processing technology near the identified site.The cement factory partner should have the technology and management system required to treat the waste.
Governmental approval & community support. All activities must be submitted to the people's committee and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)
Our learned lessons are mostly driven by the challenges we encountered and is continuously encountered at some point.
Developing and maintaining Government cooperation in different areas. It is important that all activities are supported by local government. When objectives and activities are aligned, creating a sustainable local waste management system would be attainable.
Developing sources following ocean-bound standard. Due to pandemic, mobility has been a challenge and developing new collection sites compliant to the ocean-bound standard could be tedious. It has to be done right all the time. Auditors and certifiers would ideally need to have a clear visual idea of the subject location.
Developing logistics solution for moving wastes between collection and treatment sites. Collected waste due for co-processing must maintain the lowest moisture content. During rainy season, long travels to transport the wastes to cement factories would not be ideal. The development of collection site must be considered together with the proximity of cement factory that will do co-processing.
