Barriers to plastic monitoring in freshwaters in the Global South

Plastics in freshwaters are a major problem for socio-ecological systems, calling upon smart policies for its solution. At the same time, there is a lack of relevant monitoring data on plastics in freshwaters to design such policies, specifically in the so-called Global South. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the complex barriers to mo-nitoring plastics in freshwaters in example cases of the Global South, as a starting point for more tailored monitoring, and targeted policies to reduce plastics in the environment. Based on a survey amongst 45 stakeholders in Ghana and Cambodia, we systematically analyze general barriers as well as specific technical, human, financial, and knowledge barriers identified through literature analysis and based on eight expert interviews. Results show that barriers to plastic monitoring are in general rather high, with survey respondents indicating rather high challenges with regard to the indicated barriers in both cases. Further, only slight variations between cases exist, with some barriers being slightly higher in Ghana than in Cambodia. Based on these results we call for both specific capacity development activities and less capacity-intense monitoring goals such as macro plastic monitoring to identify hotspots for policy interventions.