Lamu Archipelago 2022

THE FLIPFLOPI IS SETTING SAIL AGAIN ON A SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO MAP THE IMPACT OF MARINE LITTER IN THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN. 

As the plastic pollution crisis reaches the top of the global agenda, we all know more needs to be done to understand the real impact and extent of plastic damage on our oceans and seas. This is why we’re setting sail around the Lamu Archipelago to measure the presence of nano, micro and macroplastics in our oceans. These findings will be used to inform the development of sustainable solutions and locally-relevant waste management solutions. 

On a 2 week expedition, Flipflopi partners and members from the scientific community will be mapping the extent of marine litter, uniting communities beginning to tackle plastic waste in their immediate environments, holding events to raise the profile of plastic pollution and force action from communities and legislators and finally, prove the need to establish closed-loop community-led waste management systems.

Flipflopi Lamu to Zanzibar

The power of citizen activism to inspire change was vividly illustrated in Kenya where entrepreneurs, volunteers and boatbuilders came together to build a traditional dhow out of recycled plastic and flip flops to spread the message that plastic waste makes no sense. The flamboyant Flipflopi set off from the island of Lamu in January 2019 and sailed 500km to Zanzibar, stopping at towns and cities along the way to spark a #plasticrevolution. The aim was to inspire communities to think again about discarding their plastic waste, and to encourage people to use less plastic in the first place.

The Clean Seas campaign was delighted to support the Flipflopi’s voyage, which was widely covered in the world’s media. During the dhow’s trip, almost 40 businesses in Kenya and Tanzania pledged to reduce their use of plastic bottles and straws. 

"Everybody is inspired by our project and the message is being delivered. Thousands of people are visiting us. All the time, the boat is full of people … We believe plastic today is going to get out of our continent." -- Ali Skanda, master boatbuilder and member of Flipflopi team.

Flipflopi Lake Victoria Expedition

Covering more than 68,8000 square kilometres, Lake Victoria is the largest tropical lake in the world and the world’s second-largest freshwater lake. Population growth around the lake has skyrocketed, but few additional sources of revenue have been discovered on shore for the estimated 53 million people in the basin area.

Lake Victoria has long struggled with declining fish stocks, attributable to overfishing as well as the emergence of invasive plant species, such as the water hyacinth, as well as the impacts of climate change.

But increasingly, it’s pollution and the preponderance of microplastics that is choking the lake and shutting off this economic engine for the three countries. A recent study estimated that one in five of the fish in Lake Victoria had ingested plastic.