Guinea-Bissau Council of Ministers approve National Action Plan to Tackle Plastic Pollution

Guinea-Bissau’s first ever National Action Plan to Tackle Plastic Pollution has been formally approved by the Council of Ministers of Guinea-Bissau in a major milestone in the country’s journey to a healthy, sustainable future. 

This follows a two-year partnership between Common Seas, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action, the Competent Environmental Assessment Authority (AAAC), IUCN Guinea-Bissau and the National Committee to Tackle Plastic Pollution.

Co-developed by Common Seas and the government, the National Action Plan to Tackle Plastic Pollution in Guinea-Bissau sets out an ambitious, tailored roadmap to reduce plastic pollution in Guinea-Bissau by 79% – roughly 9,750 tonnes per year – over the coming decade.

As part of the approval, the Council also directed Ministers to adopt measures to prevent the use of single-use plastic bags within sixty days, signalling the government’s clear commitment to radically reducing plastic pollution. Following the meeting, were delighted to meet with Dr. Carlos Pinto Pereira, Minister of Environment and Climate Action, who acknowledged our successful partnership and confirmed the Government’s ongoing commitment to progress immediate measures to address plastic pollution in Guinea-Bissau by high-impact single-use plastic items. He also highlighted resource mobilisation as an immediate priority, recognising that external funding and partnerships will be needed to support implementation.

Thais Vojvodic, Director of Partnerships, comments: “Securing approval from the Council of Ministers reflects the incredible commitment of Guinea-Bissau’s leadership to address the plastic crisis. Developing this National Action Plan alongside the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action and IUCN has been a collaborative and ambitious effort, and the immediate mandates issued by the Prime Minister show a genuine appetite for meaningful action. We are thrilled to step into this next phase of implementation together.”

Jean-Louis Sanka, Project Manager, IUCN Guinea-Bissau, says: “The formal approval of the National Action Plan to Tackle Plastic Pollution by the Council of Ministers is indeed a major milestone for Guinea-Bissau and a very important achievement after two years of collective effort. It was a pleasure for IUCN Guinea-Bissau to contribute to the development of the NAP, and this momentum around plastic pollution management in Guinea-Bissau is very encouraging.”

An example of effective plastic policy development in SIDS

The approval of Guinea-Bissau’s plastic pollution policy roadmap represents one of the strongest examples to date of the programme successfully progressing from evidence generation and policy development towards government ownership and implementation.

Our partnership has already begun translating theory into action, with Common Seas supporting the government to strengthen implementation readiness through finance assessments, capacity building, and institutional coordination through the National Committee to Tackle Plastic Pollution. Over the past two years, Common Seas has supported Guinea-Bissau to:

The approval also creates an important opportunity to begin the next phase of our work, where we will be supporting Guinea-Bissau to mobilise financing and progress priority interventions identified through the implementation finance assessment. This is a key part of our work supporting government partners to build the enabling conditions to accelerate implementation, such as securing the financing and institutional capacity needed to drive long-term systems change.

Supporting Small Island Developing States to tackle plastic pollution

The National Action Plan was one of five policy strategies to radically reduce plastic pollution in Small Island Developing States announced at the start of 2026, as part of a programme funded by the UK’s Sustainable Blue Economies Programme. 

The support of UK International Development was crucial in driving Guinea-Bissau’s journey from evidence generation and policy development towards government ownership and implementation.  

Looking ahead, we will be supporting the government to mobilise financing and progress priority interventions identified to secure sustainable systems change and lasting reductions in plastic pollution. By continuing to take decisive policy action, the Government of Guinea-Bissau is on a clear path to safeguarding the environment, protecting the health of Bissau-Guineans, and benefiting future generations.