Adil Bakir is a Principal Scientist working on microplastics at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in the UK. Adil has been involved in the field of microplastic research for about 10 years starting as a postdoctoral researcher for a Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) funded project at Plymouth University in the UK investigating whether microplastics pose a physical and/or chemical threat in the marine environment. In 2014 he joined the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Portsmouth (UK) as a Senior Scientific Officer and was working closely with industry and environmental groups on a range of projects ranging from high frequency nutrient monitoring to the development of new applications in passive sampling. Adil joined the marine litter team at Cefas in 2018 and is currently leading the Cefas microplastic laboratory aiming at developing faster and cheaper techniques for the monitoring of microplastics in environmental matrices.
Marine litter pollution is a growing problem and monitoring programmes are an important tool to evaluate both the trends and the efficiency of reduction measures. In March 2022, heads of state, ministers of environment and other representatives from UN member states endorsed a historic resolution to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024. Now, more than ever, monitoring programmes and scientific evidence are required to inform governments, institutions and organisations on decision making for this global framework.