Background and Vision

Rivers.Global was founded in Norway in June 2018. Our vision is for cleaner oceans, and we believe that cleaner rivers are crucial in getting there. Every minute rivers in Central and South America, Africa, Eastern Europe and not least South East Asia supply the ocean with tons of plastics and other waste. We have to do something about this, and we should focus on tackling ocean pollution closer to the source. If all the sinks in your house are clogged and all the taps are running with full pressure, it doesn’t help much to clean the basement floor with a rag. We see time and again that large and expensive clean-up operations far offshore have very limited effect. Effective clean-up operations of plastics take place where there’s a lot of plastic and where it’s easy to get hold of it. On-shore and near-shore operations can be very effective in getting those running taps closed.

Can it be done?

There is a limit to how much plastic and other waste the sea can swallow. As a member and donor of Rivers.Global, you can support an organization that aims to cut the world’s supply of plastic waste into the sea. Your support for Rivers will help us work for improved waste management, effective clean-ups, the introduction of deposit schemes and increased awareness. We are currently involved in the project “Fighting Plastic in Mekong”, run by the organization NMAV in Vietnam.

No employees

Rivers.Global is registered as a member association with the organization number 921.112.696. With 270 members as per October 2020, we are growing slowly but surely. We have a stated goal of always being small in Norway, and rather a significant player where the challenges with plastic pollution are considerably greater than in Northern Europe.

We do not have any staff yet, and our administrative costs are and will always remain low. Therefore, the contributions made by members and donors are focused towards where they are most needed. We hope to be able to hire when the size and finances of the organization make it necessary and possible. At this stage, we are not very active on social media, our website or newsletters. We are grateful for inputs from our friends in what we can do differently or better. Some of you are already throwing in hours for Rivers, including an accountant and an auditor.

Membership for all

To make it as easy as possible, we only have one option when it comes to membership; A single membership at NOK 200 or USD 20 or Euro 20 per year. The price is low, in fact less than 2 Euro per month, so that everyone should be able to afford it. As the number of members grows, it becomes easier to get support from businesses, foundations and grants. Official support is not applicable until we can attach accounts for the last three years, which will only be relevant for Rivers in 2021. Therefore, individual gifts, regular donors and support from businesses and schools will be incredibly important for Rivers for the next two years. Thanks for mentioning Rivers in your contexts.