From laissez-faire to action? Exploring perceptions of plastic pollution and impetus for action. Insights from Phu Quoc Island
Introduction
Vietnam is ranked among the top-five countries of post-consumption plastics leaking into the oceans in the world, when calculating likely inputs of mismanaged plastic waste within 50 km of coastlines [1], [2], [3]. This high level is largely the result of the rapidly growing single-use plastic packaging economy, a growing consumer population, prevailing littering practices, and the import of low-quality plastics. Together these factors overexert existing rudimentary municipal waste management systems. In addition, Vietnam has a long coastline and huge river systems via much of the mismanaged waste eventually enters the ocean [2], [4], [5]. Consequences for marine ecosystems have been intensively studied, pointing to a similar conclusion: ocean plastic pollution threatens flora and fauna. The most recognized risks for marine species are entanglement in floating plastic debris, the ingestion of small plastic particles and ecotoxicological effects due to chemical contamination [6], [7]. Until recently, Vietnam’s politics have widely ignored the rising tides of plastic pollution, or, more precisely, shortsighted economic interests were prioritized over environmental protection (Expert1,Expert2). This is also true for Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s most famous tourist island. For a long time, provincial and local authorities considered plastic pollution secondary to prioritizing fast mass tourism [8,9,LA5]. However, intense plastic consumption and an ill-equipped waste infrastructure make pollution increasingly evident. Vivid images in media and travel blogs depict plastic waste, such as wrapping materials and shopping bags, overflowing from landfills, lying on streets and beaches, floating visibly in the shallow waters and illustrate severe governance failures by local and provincial authorities [10], [11]. Most notably, Phu Quoc’s reputation as a destination of unique, pristine landscape is at stake. As Phu Quoc’s actors – particularly local authorities and the international tourism sector – are beginning to recognize the problem, activism to combat the plastic pollution is growing [12]. Yet, jointly recognizing a problem does not automatically lead to the same assessment of what is at stake as this is shaped inter alia by individual affectedness, experiences and knowledge [13], [14], [15], [16]. Along these lines, as for instance environmental psychologists and antroplogists argue, response strategies are doomed to fail without paying attention to how individuals and groups engage with and understand plastic pollution [14], [16], [17]. The way a problem is framed strongly influences how approaches to address it are developed. Yet, little research has examined how the global phenomenon is experienced, comprehended and responded to by different actors within local contexts, especially in places that have been globally highlighted as a hotspot, e.g. Southeast Asia [1], [3], [14], [17].
Accordingly, this study scrutinizes how and why Phu Quoc’s actors adopt certain perceptions, waste-related practices and response strategies by taking a comparative actor-oriented focus. Concepts of risk perception and waste governance underpin the analytical perspective. In particular, the study addresses the following questions: First, who assesses plastic and more broadly waste pollution as a matter of concern? Second, what are the rationality and the scope for individual or collective action for addressing plastic pollution? Thus, the paper provides valuable insights into what plastic pollution means in a local context – most notably usable for Vietnamese officials and organizations involved in developing and implementing local measures to minimize land-based sources within the Phu Quoc Marine Debris Action Plan, the National Action Plan and the ASEAN Framework to combat marine litter [18], [19]. In essence, this paper aims to help close the research gap in a fast-moving field by analyzing local perceptions of and response strategies to plastic pollution in a globally recognized hotspot.
Section snippets
Conceptual framing: approaching waste governance and risk perception research
This study is framed by two conceptual lines: (1) waste governance and (2) risk perception approaches that embrace subjective interpretations of risk.
This article frames waste as a geographical phenomenon as materials relocate and rematerialize in space [20], [21], [22]. Geographic studies of waste [20], [21], [23], [24], [25] point out that waste allows both ‘negative’, e.g. as a nuisance, and ‘positive’, e.g. as a source of income, framings, depending on what is perceived as waste. Thus,
Methods
The case study’s methodical repertoire includes semi-structured and open interviews, participatory observation, off-the-record conversations and visual documentation. To get a broader picture of waste governance and plastic pollution issues in Vietnam, expert interviews, attendance at conferences and workshops, and media analysis complement these methods. The results presented and discussed are based primarily on the qualitative interviews and participatory observation conducted on Phu Quoc in
Assessing the problem
Understanding perceptions of plastic pollution means engaging in subjective interpretative frameworks. The international tourism sector, local authorities and parts of the local tourism sector perceive the problem widely. That is, “if we don’t care about garbage, plastic packaging and plastic bottles pollution, our image is not good in tourist's eyes […] we will lose our reputation” [LA1]; and, so their fear, revenues from the tourism sector as well. In all groups, visibility is a crucial risk
Conclusion
This paper provides arguments for the relevance of analyzing local perceptions and experiences of waste pollution and specifically plastic pollution to refine the understanding of response strategies that aim to stop waste, above all plastics, before it enters the ocean in the first place. The case study shows how diverse perceptions of waste and pollution by plastic can be. The risks of plastic waste for marine environments and marine and coastal-dependent economies, most notably tourism,
Funding
This work was supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) [grant number: 01UU1603A].
Declarations of interest
None.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the WWF-Germany and WWF-Vietnam team for their great support of the field trips to Vietnam, their invaluable input and the inspiring discussions that made the results more robust. A big thank you also to the translators and field assistants. Many thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their critical reading of the manuscript and their many insightful comments and suggestions.
Glossary
- Actor
- An actor is a person, collective group or corporative entity that has a legitimate interest in the course or outcome of a proceeding. They cause a specific problem (in the field of interest, e.g., environmental problems), are affected by them, have the political power, or have the means to solve them. Often used synonymously with ‘stakeholder.’ Njeru, J. (2006) Political ecology of plastic bag waste problem. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.03.003
- Actor-analysis (or
References (83)
- et al.
Current situation and key challenges on the use of single-use plastic in Hanoi
Waste Manag.
(2021) Why is the global governance of plastic failing the oceans?
Glob. Environ. Change
(2018)- et al.
Using expert elicitation to estimate the impacts of plastic pollution on marine wildlife
Mar. Policy
(2016) - et al.
The impact of debris on marine life
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
(2015) - et al.
Ways forward for aquatic conservation: applications of environmental psychology to support management objectives
J. Environ. Manag.
(2016) - et al.
Public views on plastic pollution: knowledge, perceived impacts, and pro-environmental behaviours
J. Hazard. Mater.
(2021) - et al.
Exploring public views on marine litter in Europe: perceived causes, consequences and pathways to change
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
(2018) - et al.
Solid waste management challenges for cities in developing countries
Waste Manag.
(2013) - et al.
Solutions for global marine litter pollution
Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain.
(2017) - et al.
From problem to crisis to interdisciplinary solutions: plastic marine debris
Mar. Policy
(2018)
How successful are waste abatement campaigns and government policies at reducing plastic waste into the marine environment?
Mar. Policy
Who cares about dirty beaches? Evaluating environmental awareness and action on coastal litter in ChileMaking Marine Science Matter: Issues and Solutions from the 3rd International Marine Conservation Congress 2017
Ocean & Coastal Management
Litter assessment on 99 Cuban beaches: a baseline to identify sources of pollution and impacts for tourism and recreation
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
Troubles in the paradise: litter and its scenic impact on the North Santa Catarina island beaches, Brazil
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
Making sense of microplastics? Public understandings of plastic pollution
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
Risk perception research: socio-cultural perspectives on the public experience of air pollution
Environ. Int.
How to define and measure risk perceptions
Ann. Tour. Res.
Who’s in and why? A typology of stakeholder analysis methods for natural resource management
J. Environ. Manag.
Factors influencing source separation intention and willingness to pay for improving waste management in Bangkok, Thailand
Sustain. Environ. Res.
International policies to reduce plastic marine pollution from single-use plastics (plastic bags and microbeads): a review
Mar. Pollut. Bull.
Charges for plastic bags: motivational and behavioral effects
J. Environ. Psychol.
Sustainable solid waste management practices and perceived cleanliness in a low income city
Habitat Int.
Marine pollution. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Science
Vietnam’s regulations to prevent pollution from plastic waste: a review based on the circular economy approach
J. Environ. Law
Country Profil Viet Nam: Managing municipal solid waste and packaging waste
Water resource management and island tourism development: insights from Phu Quoc, Kien Giang, Vietnam
Environ. Dev. Sustain
Human perceptions and behaviour determine aquatic plastic pollution
The anthropology of plastics: an agenda for local studies of a global matter of concern
Med. Anthropol. Q
Geography and the matter of waste mobilities
Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr.
Geographies of waste: conceptual vectors from the Global South
Prog. Hum. Geogr.
Purity and Danger: An analysis of Concept of Pollution and Taboo
Garbage matters
Prog. Hum. Geogr.
Facing Frictions: Waste and Globalised Inequalities
J. Entwickl.
From waste to resource: the trade in wastes and global recycling economies
Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.
The geographies of garbage governance interventions
Interactions and Outcomes
Cited by (6)
How does nuclear energy consumption contribute to or hinder green growth in major nuclear energy-consuming countries?
2024, Progress in Nuclear EnergyCoastal and marine plastic pollution in Vietnam: Problems and the way out
2023, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf SciencePlastic waste in sandy beaches and surface water in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam: abundance, characterization, and sources
2023, Environmental Monitoring and AssessmentCapturing public knowledge and awareness from data models and policies to build research links between EU and US ocean research
2022, Handbook of Research on Technological Advances of Library and Information Science in Industry 5.0Role of Citizen Scientists in Environmental Plastic Litter Research—A Systematic Review
2022, Sustainability (Switzerland)