Marine litter composition and density in Alor Island

The habit of littering as well as illegal waste dumping into the river and the ocean is commonly found in various regions in Indonesia, including Alor island. Most of waste dumped on the land end up in the coastal through river flows and water run-off and at the and at the end is carried away to the ocean. The inappropriate existence of anthropogenic waste causes damage to marine and coastal ecosystems, for instance plastic ocean, while the ocean provides livelihood for most coastal people in Alor. In addition, dirty coastal areas due to trash littering and illegal waste dumping can be another issue in terms of marine tourism activity which is currently being promoted by the Alor Regency government. Therefore, further research is needed in order to support the making of waste management regulation as well as educational and awareness raising within people of Alor island. This research supported by citizen science of Plastic Free Ocean Network Alor identified the composition and concentration of marine litter in Alor Island using the line transect method developed by CSIRO. The result showed that the top three marine litter compositions in all locations during January-June 2019 were soft plastic, hard plastic and glass. The density of marine litter on Alor Island is categorized as high density as a whole. The location that contributed the highest marine litter density was Kadelang Beach.