Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) serves to tackle the deterioration of coastal and marine environments from land-based activities in order to preserve and broaden their existence. This is achieved through assisting countries in taking actions within their respective policies, priorities and resources, to implement National Programmes of Action (NPA’s) for preventing, reducing and controlling the degradation of the marine environment. This involves translating the overall policy objective of the GPA into global, regional and national level objectives as well as actions, thus directly contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and World Summit on Sustainable Development agreed targets.
Further guidance for implementation, mainly through the UNEP Regional Seas Programme, focuses on defined pollutant-source categories, including municipal wastewater management, Physical Alteration and Destruction of Habitats (PADH), Integrated Coastal Area and River-basin Management (ICARM) as well as cross-cutting themes like innovative financing arrangements and legislative aspects. Dissemination through the GPA Clearing House Mechanism includes the development of region specific nodes.
Capacity building is being addressed by regional multistakeholder fora, initiation of pilot projects, and development of targeted training modules. The GPA contributes to the preparation of global assessment reports.