Stronger Together: The role of regional instruments in strengthening global governance of marine plastic pollution

Introduction

Marine plastic pollution presents a growing problem in the ocean. While the exact amount of plastic litter in the ocean is unknown, research results indicate that plastics are widespread in all parts of the ocean, from Antarctica to the Arctic and from the sea surface to the seafloor, including the deep sea (Gall & Thompson, 2015). Ocean currents carry plastic items across the oceans, making marine plastic pollution a global, transboundary issue.

The sources of plastics accumulating in the oceans can be broadly divided into plastics originating from land-based activities and plastics entering the sea as a result of sea-based activities. Land-based sources of marine plastic pollution are manifold and can be broadly categorised into commercial activities, industrial and agricultural practices and consumers (Mathews & Stretz, 2019). Plastic litter originating on land enters the sea through different pathways, such as rivers, direct wastewater discharges into water bodies, and wind. The actual leakages of plastic litter entering the sea depends greatly on the adequacy of municipal waste management systems (GESAMP, 2016). Sea-based activities leading to the direct discharge of marine plastic litter into the sea include fishing, aquaculture, shipping, ocean dumping and other maritime activities (Gilardi et al., 2020). While land-based sources are predominant on a global scale, marine litter composition data from different locations indicates that sea-based sources are at times prevailing over land-based sources, particularly in areas further away from large human settlements (Bergmann et al., 2015).

Marine plastic litter is amongst the most pervasive and challenging types of litter as it can impact the marine environment for decades (Mæland & Staupe-Delgado, 2020). It comes in all sizes and the term ‘microplastic’ typically describes plastic particles which have a diameter of less than 5 mm (Jambeck et al., 2020). Some ecological as well as socio-economic implications of marine plastic pollution are now well recognised, while other consequences are more complex and challenging to study. The entanglement of marine organisms in plastic litter is amongst the most evident impacts of marine plastic litter. Entanglement can cause cuts, abrasions and injuries or in the worst case lead to death through drown-ing, starvation, and strangulation of marine species. Impacts from entanglement are mainly observed for higher taxa organism, such as whales, turtles, seals, sharks and large fish and are typically caused by abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) (Gall & Thompson, 2015). 

When larger pieces of plastic sink to the sea floor, they can smother benthic organisms, plants and cor-al. Furthermore, many marine animals swallow plastic particles, which can lead to the partial blockage or injury to their digestive tracts and a decline in feeding due to feelings of satiation, all of which may ultimately lead to poor nutrition and a health decline (Bergmann et al., 2015). Since microplastics can absorb toxins and heavy metals from the sea, the risk exists that toxins bioaccumulate along the food chain and ultimately enter the human diet (UNEP, 2017). In addition, plastic waste can promote microbial colonisation by pathogens implicated in outbreaks of disease in the ocean and facilitate non-indigenous species invasion (GESAMP, 2016).

With the amount of plastic produced globally expected to double over the next ten to fifteen years, urgent action and systemic change is needed to prevent and reduce marine plastic pollution (Williams et al., 2019). Measures upstream are key to preventing plastic litter from both land and sea entering the ocean. Furthermore, recovery activities are needed to remove plastic from the ocean and reduce the impact on marine life. 

In the past, binding agreements as well as voluntary measures with relevance to the issue of marine plastic pollution have been adopted under different global conventions, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) and the protocol thereto (London Protocol), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Stockholm Convention and the Basel Convention. The issue was furthermore widely discussed within the OECD and at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) (Figure 6). 

Several UNEA resolutions targeted the issue of marine litter, requesting inter alia an assessment of the effectiveness of relevant governance strategies and approaches (UNEA 2/11), the strengthening of the capacity and activity of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on marine litter (UNEA 3/7), and the establishment of an Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group (UNEA 3/7), tasked to ‘Analyse the effectiveness of existing and potential response options and activities on marine litter and microplastics at all levels to determine the contribution in solving the global problem’ (UNEA 4/6, paragraph 7d). In addition, four of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the international community in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development have targets directly related to marine plastic pollution. These targets deal with improving wastewater treatment (Target 6.3), urban waste management (Target 11.6) prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse of waste (Targets 12.4, 12.5 and 14.1) and sustainable management of oceans (Target 14.2 and 14.c) (Löhr et al., 2017) 

Moreover, a variety of partnerships and other commitments, including the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) and its Global Partner-ship on Marine Litter (GPML), the Clean Seas campaign of UNEP, the G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter, the G7 Action Plan to Combat Marine Litter and the IMO Action Plan to Address Marine Plastic Litter from Ships were initiated at the global level in order to address marine plastic pollution.

At the regional level, several Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs), Large Marine Eco-systems (LME) projects, Regional Economic Organisations (REOs), Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs) as well as NGO initiatives, regional forums and science associations are actively engaged in curbing marine plastic litter.

While all of these efforts as well as the multiple initiatives at national level certainly indicate the urgency and willingness attributed to addressing the issue of marine plastic pollution, noticeable gaps persist in the governance of marine litter (Carlini & Kleine, 2018; Raubenheimer et al., 2018; Simon et al., 2018). Different ways to enhance the existing governance framework have been discussed in numerous inter-national fora, with growing support among States for concluding a new global agreement on marine plastic pollution which would be able to provide a comprehensive framework for addressing marine plastic litter. Such an agreement, whether voluntary or binding, may provide an opportunity to stream-line and harmonise the current and future efforts to address marine plastic pollution at global, regional and national levels. 

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