ID: 2248
Presenting Author: Marissa Jablonski
Session: 709 - USAID’s ESIA Legacy and Looking Forward
Status: pending
The US State Department and USAID united public and private stakeholders around toxic ocean plastics while restoring trust, improving economic systems, revitalizing science communication, and more.
Environmental impact assessments come in many forms. Economics and social reform can be the catalyst required to call for environmental work. In 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, partnering with local governments, the Phuket Hotels Association, and community-led organizations, identified ocean plastic pollution as a driver of extreme economic decline in Phuket. Daily tides of waste, entangling marine life and fouling beaches, forced costly cleanups and fueled misinformation that hindered coordinated action. Uncertainty left stakeholders unable to respond effectively as tourism revenue fell to unsustainable levels.
Through collaboration with USAID’s ASHA Office, the U.S. Embassy deployed an Embassy Science Fellow, an environmental engineer experienced in community engagement and systems thinking, to develop an environmental impact assessment and coordinated mitigation plan.
The resulting partnerships reduced single-use plastic consumption by over six million items annually, strengthened waste management and environmental education, and restored trust among local, national, and international actors. This initiative demonstrates how science-based diplomacy and integrated assessment can drive tangible environmental and social recovery and transform crisis into collaboration and resilience. Public trust was rebuilt in local and international political systems; scientific understanding behind waste, pollution, economics and environment grew; and effective communication among stakeholders who had previously been isolated and confused increased.
Marissa Jablonski, PhD, with 20 years of international development experience, supported USAID as an Environmental Advisor engaging with global communities, now runs the Freshwater Collaborative.