Onshore sources of litter account for a large share of marine debris, with abandonment and waste from damaged natural areas exacerbating the threat to ecosystems. The LIBERA project, initiated by SEO/BirdLife in partnership with Ecoembes, is launching a refreshed version of the Rural areas, 1m2 for forests campaign. The goal is to stress the need for targeted actions to reduce litter and broaden public awareness across mountain and valley landscapes from December 3 to December 11.
In 2021, more than 5,500 volunteers removed 8.5 tons of waste at 346 locations across the country.
This sixth edition of the citizen science effort coincides with International Mountain Day on December 11. en campo, montes y bosques aims to support participating groups and volunteers in clearing these environments of garbage while collecting data to analyze both the type and volume of abandoned waste.
The initiative also seeks to educate the public about the impact of litter on terrestrial ecosystems. In this spirit, the project RELEASE invites any organization, association, or entity to participate. Register by November 27 and create your score through the site proyectolibera.org.
Participating groups will use the eLitter mobile app, a leading tool for waste characterization. It was developed by the Vertidos Cero and Paisaje Limpio associations in collaboration with LIBERA for inland ecosystems. The collected data will be fed into the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) database and integrated with LIBERA’s predefined objects in the Trash Barometer.
“Garbage is a global issue and environmental education is a key tool in reducing it”
In the latest edition, days of cleaning and data collection spanned 346 points nationwide with the help of more than 5,500 volunteers, yielding 8.5 tons of waste and 67,616 items analyzed. In 2021, plastic fragments under 2.5 cm were primarily categorized as cigarette butts and beverage cans.
“Garbage is a global problem and environmental education is a primary means to curb it. There is no better way to urge action than to put on gloves and take to the field, increasing scientific understanding of this issue,” says Miguel Muñoz, coordinator at SEO/BirdLife for the LIBERA Project.
“LIBERA’s aim is to raise public awareness about the impact of litter in terrestrial habitats, since waste in these settings often contributes to the majority of land-based pollution. As part of the sixth edition of 1m2 for countryside, forests and mountains, the project seeks to expand education and information on litter’s effects in these natural areas by empowering participating groups and associations to properly characterize waste and support awareness campaigns,” notes Sara Güemes, LIBERA coordinator at Ecoembes.
The project recently closed its most active civic science cycle of the year. After the September edition, more than seven tons of litter were collected from beaches and coastal zones, with roughly 46,000 objects characterized thanks to more than 6,000 volunteers across the coast.
LIBERA: a project to involve the community
LIBERA is a program created by SEO/BirdLife in collaboration with Ecoembes. Its aim is to boost awareness and mobilize citizens to reduce litter in natural areas.
The program offers a framework focused on knowledge, prevention, and participation to minimize environmental impact. Through these actions, it supports several Sustainable Development Goals, including SDGs 4, 13, 14, 15 and 17.
LIBERA has mobilized thousands of people since its inception, collaborating with hundreds of organizations and groups, including CSIC, the Queen Sofia Foundation, DGT, Paisaje Limpio, and Vertidos Cero. The initiative has become a leading platform for raising awareness across diverse audiences. Through tools like eLitter, MARNOBA, and BASURALEZA, volunteers have logged hundreds of thousands of objects across national sites, contributing to the MITECO database.
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Contact details for the environment department have been removed to protect privacy.