UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services) signed an agreement with the South Asia Co-operative Environment Program (SACEP), an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Sri Lanka, to support them in the implementation of the World Bank funded Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia Project (PLEASE).
The PLEASE project catalyses actions to strengthen innovation and coordination of circular economy solutions to plastic pollution flowing into the South Asian Seas.
The project aims to (1) improve the identification and testing of plastic pollution mitigation solutions; (2) to increase leveraging of policy solutions and public-private sector engagement in plastic pollution, waste and leakage mitigation across the value chain; and (3) to strengthen regional integration institutions.
The project was launched in 2020, with World Bank International Development Association (IDA) funding totalling US$37 million, and a parallel co-financing of US$ 13 million by Parley for the Oceans.
PLEASE will be implemented in South Asia countries until July 2025.