India, Norway sign first joint initiative to combat marine pollution

In a bid to fight marine pollution, India Monday signed a letter of intent with the Norwegian government establishing the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative.

The letter was signed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) establishing the initiative with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a statement from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) said.

"In January, 2019, the Indian and Norwegian governments agreed to work more closely on oceans by signing an MoU and establishing the India-Norway Ocean Dialogue during the Norwegian Prime Minister's visit to India in January," it said.

The joint initiative was signed by Anil Kumar Jain, Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, and Nils RagnarKamsvag, Norway's Ambassador to India.

The statement from the EAC-PM said his is the first joint initiative under this new partnership and the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative will combat marine pollution, which is one of the fastest growing environmental concerns.

In partnership, Norway and India will share experiences and competence, and collaborate on efforts to develop clean and healthy oceans, sustainable use of ocean resources and growth in the blue economy, it said.

Among those present at the event were Marianne Hagen, Deputy Minister, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and M Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.

This initiative will seek to support local governments in implementing sustainable waste management practices, develop systems for collecting and analysing information about sources and scope of marine pollution and improve private sector investment, the government said.

Support will also be directed towards beach clean-up efforts, awareness raising campaigns and pilot project using plastic waste as fuel substitution for coal in cement production and developing frameworks for deposit schemes, it said.