MARINE LITTER: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE

by Ellik Adler* and Ljubomir Jeftic**

*Senior Programme Officer, Chief of the Regional Seas Branch
Division of Environmental Conventions, United Nations Environment Programme
P.O.Box 20552 Nairobi, Kenya, Ellik.Adler@unep.org

**UNEP Consultant, Zagreb, Croatia

INTRODUCTION

Marine litter is found in all sea areas of the world – not only in densely populated regions, but also in remote places far away from any obvious sources. The problem of marine litter is cultural and multi-sectoral. The root causes are generally poor management of human activities or inadequate understanding on the part of the public and workers of the potential consequences of their behaviour. The barriers to change are largely resistance to change, deficiencies in public information and a lack of comprehension of the dangers associated with current practices among the public and workers.

A number of countries have taken some initial steps to address the marine litter issue through legislation, enforcement of international agreements, providing reception facilities for ship-generated wastes, improving their waste management practices and supporting extensive beach cleanup activities, as well as through the initiation of information, education and public awareness programmes. Thus, many activities have already been started but, clearly, not enough has yet been done.

In this paper particular emphasis will be given to the problem of abandoned, lost, and derelict fishing gear (ALFG). During the 1950s, most of the world’s fishing industries largely replaced nets and gear made of natural fibres such as cotton, jute and hemp with those made of synthetic materials, such as nylon, polyethylene and polypropylene. The problem with these materials is that unlike natural fibre gear that degrades over time, synthetic fishing gear is functionally resistant to degradation in the water. Hence, once discarded or lost, this gear remains in the marine environment, with negative economic and environmental impacts. As an example of the problem the UNEP’s ‘Marine Litter – An Analytical Overview’ reports that in 2002, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collected 107 tonnes of nets and lines and other fishing gear on the Pearl and Hermes Atoll (northern Hawaiian Islands) alone. In 2003, another 90 tonnes were found near the Pearl and Hermes, and Midway Islands.

THE REGIONAL SEAS PROGRAMME

UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme, initiated in 1974, provides a legal, administrative, substantive and financial framework for the implementation of Agenda 21, (in particular chapter 17 on oceans), for the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg 9/2002) and more recently, for the Bali Strategic Plan. The Programme restates that sustainable development of the oceans requires effective coordination and co-operation, at the global and regional levels, and between relevant bodies. The UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme is based on regional Action Plans, related to the environmental conservation and management of a common body of water. These plans are usually adopted by high-level intergovernmental meetings and implemented, in most cases, in the framework of a legally binding Regional Seas Convention and its specific protocols, under the authority of the respective Contracting Parties or Intergovernmental Meetings.

Currently, seventeen regions are covered by adopted Action Plans: Thirteen regional Action Plans have been established under the auspices of UNEP: The Wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention), East Africa (Nairobi Convention), East Asia (COBSEA), Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention), North-West Pacific (NOWPAP), West and Central Africa (Abidjan Convention), are directly administered by UNEP and the Black Sea (Bucharest Convention), the ROPME Sea Area (Kuwait Convention region), North-East Pacific (Antigua Convention), Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (Jeddah Convention), South Asia (SAS – SACEP), South-East Pacific (CPPS, Lima Convention) and South Pacific (SPREP Noumea Convention), which are independently administered by their regional secretariats. Similar independent regional programmes and agreements are in place in the Antarctic (CCMLAR), the Arctic (PAME), the Baltic Sea (Helsinki Convention, HELCOM), the Caspian (Teheran Convention) and North-East Atlantic (Oslo Paris Convention, OSPAR). Plans for a new programme in the South-West Atlantic are under consideration.

Altogether, more than 140 countries participate in at least one Regional Seas Action Plan and/or conventions aiming for sustainable use and management of the ocean and coastal areas.

Each of the RSP’s Action Plans is based on the respective region’s particular environmental concerns and challenges, as well as its socio-economic and political situation. Most RS Programmes evolved around a common axis and their identified shared priorities include:

• Land-based sources of marine and coastal pollution
• Ship-generated marine pollution (oil, chemicals, litter, invasive species)
• Increased urbanization and coastal development causing destruction of ecosystems and habitats
• Conservation and management of marine and coastal ecosystems
• Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) and Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management (ICARM)
• Over-exploitation and depletion of living marine resources, including fisheries
• Monitoring, reporting and assessment of the marine environment

A decision of the 22nd UNEP Governing Council (Nairobi, February, 2003) set out the elements of a new global strategy for the Regional Seas Programmes. The strategy is based on the central idea that the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans serve two major objectives:

1. As a principal platform for regional implementation of global conventions, MEAs (Multilateral Environmental Agreements) and global programmes or initiatives – that is, to provide the UN agencies or global programmes an existing regional mechanism through which they could implement their activities on a regional scale; and

2. As a regional platform for co-ordination of activities that will contribute to sustainable development of the shared marine and coastal environment.

This set the base for developing the new Strategic Directions for 2004-2007 by the 5th and 6th Global Meetings of the Regional Seas, Nairobi, November 2003 and Istanbul, December 2004.

The new global strategic directions identify actions to be implemented during 2004-2007 to enhance the RSP at the global level, while continuing the implementation of the action programmes of the individual RSPs as agreed upon by their governing bodies. The following are the new strategic elements or directions:

• Increase the Regional Seas Programme’s contribution to sustainable development through the development of partnerships with relevant social, economic and environmental stakeholders.
• Enhance sustainability and effectiveness of the Regional Seas Programmes through increasing country ownership, national legislation, compliance and enforcement, and through involving civil society and the private sector, building capacities, ensuring viable financial arrangements.
• Enhance the Regional Seas Programme’s visibility and political impact in global and regional policy setting, through the establishment of a strengthened ‘RS Alliance’, addressing emerging and priority issues, and ensuring participation of Regional Seas in the relevant regional and global fora.
• Support knowledge-based policy-making, improve knowledge on the state of the marine environment through scientific monitoring and assessment and enhance public awareness.
• Increase the use of the Regional Seas Programme as a platform for promoting synergies and coordinated regional implementation of relevant MEAs, global and regional initiatives and responsibilities of United Nations Agencies, such as IMO, IAEA, IOC of UNESCO and FAO and other international relevant actors as.
• Promote the development of a universal vision and integrated management, based on the ecosystem approach.

Putting prominent emphasis on the effort to address the issue of Marine Litter in general and of Abandoned and Lost Fishing Gear in particular, UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme can act as a platform for developing common regional strategies, promoting synergies and coordinated regional implementation. Although several initiatives are being undertaken worldwide, mostly at the national level, to prevent, reduce and/or remove ALFG, regional and international co-operation are of vital significance for the development of a common jurisdiction for the prevention, as well as the eradication of the problem, because of its transboundary nature.

UN ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION A/60/L.22 ON MARINE LITTER

Recently, international attention is focusing more and more on the problem of marine litter and this is becoming an issue of local, national, regional and global concern. Even the General Assembly of UN did address the problem of marine litter in its November 2005 session and relevant paragraph of the corresponding resolution are reproduced below.

The UN General Assembly addressed the issue of marine litter/debris in Nov. 2005 and the UN General Assembly Resolution A/60/L.22 - Oceans and the Law of the Sea - of 29 November 2005 states:

“…The General Assembly,

65. Notes the lack of information and data on marine debris and encourages relevant national and international organizations to undertake further studies on the extent and nature of the problem, also encourages States to develop partnerships with industry and civil society to raise awareness of the extent of the impact of marine debris on the health and productivity of the marine environment and consequent economic loss;

66. Urges States to integrate the issue of marine debris within national strategies dealing with waste management in the coastal zone, ports and maritime industries, including recycling, reuse, reduction and disposal, and to encourage the development of appropriate economic incentives to address this issue, including the development of cost recovery systems that provide an incentive to use port reception facilities and discourage ships from discharging marine debris at sea, and encourages States to cooperate regionally and subregionally to develop and implement joint prevention and recovery programmes for marine debris;

67. Invites the International Maritime Organization, in consultation with relevant organizations and bodies, to review annex V to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, and to assess its effectiveness in addressing sea-based sources of marine debris;

68. Welcomes the continued work of the International Maritime Organization relating to port waste reception facilities, and notes the work done to identify problem areas and develop an action plan addressing the inadequacy of such facilities;

69. Calls upon States to take all appropriate measures to control, reduce and minimize, to the fullest extent possible, marine pollution from land-based sources as part of their national sustainable development strategies and programmes, in an integrated and inclusive manner, and to advance the implementation of the Global programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities and the Montreal Declaration on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based activities; [and]

70. Welcomes the convening of the Second Intergovernmental Review Meeting of the Global Programme of Action in Beijing from 16 to 20 October 2006 as an opportunity to discuss marine debris in relation to the source categories of the Global Programme of Action, and urges broad high-level participation.”

It is hoped that this resolution of the UN General Assembly will bring the issue of marine litter to the centre of global attention and concern and will serve as legal and programmatic platform for the developing of relevant national, regional and global initiatives to challenge the problem of marine litter.

SOURCES OF MARINE LITTER

Main sources of the marine litter could be either sea-based or land-based.

Sea-based sources

• Merchant shipping, ferries and cruise liners.
• Fishing vessels and fish farming.
• Naval vessels, research ships and pleasure crafts.
• Offshore oil and gas platforms.

Land-based sources

• Waste from municipal landfills located on the coast.
• The wider context of waste management.
• Discharge of untreated municipal sewerage and storm water.
• Industrial facilities.
• River transport.
• Tourism and beach-going leftovers.

PROBLEMS AND BOTTLENECKS

There are many problems associated with marine litter and some of them are presented below. These problems range from global levels to very local levels, sometimes emphasized dramatically by local geographic, hydrographic and environmental conditions:

• Marine Litter poses a severe threat to marine life, protected areas and species and marine habitats and ecosystems.
• It has significant environmental and economic impact on commercial fisheries resources.
• It has the potential to act as a vector for the introduction of marine invasive species.
• It has serious aesthetic impact on beaches and affects tourism.
• It poses threat to human health and safety.
• It is a serious navigational hazard and poses losses to cooling systems of vessels, from small fishing boats and yachts to large military vessels.
• It plugs intakes of sea water such as desalination plants and cooling water for power stations.
• It damages fishing vessels and gear.
• It is a transboundary issue causing political conflicts and tension.
• It affects all the regions of the world - from Antarctica to Greenland from the long coastline of continents to the smallest and most remote islands of the Pacific.
• Despite international, regional and national efforts, there are indications that marine litter is increasing.
• While many of the negative impacts of marine litter are experienced at the local level and require local action, marine debris is a global issue.
• It has a wide variety of sources and can move great distances from where it originally enters the marine environment.
• Domestic efforts to prevent the incidence of marine and coastal litter (especially marinesourced) are ineffective without regional and international collaboration to address the sources of the problem.
• While Marine Litter is part of the physical marine environment and is therefore directly influenced by the interactions of wind, sand and sea, there is little information available on how debris is transported and broken down within this dynamic system.
• Better information on the influence of ocean circulation and wind patterns on the movements of marine debris and its persistence in the marine and coastal environment, would enable a better understanding of areas of convergence and accumulation of debris, including regions of potential navigational hazard.
• This information would also help identify areas for targeting removal of debris at sea to minimize its threat to vessels, wildlife or sensitive coastal environments.
• The lack of international legal instruments (except for IMO/MARPOL Annex V which deals only with garbage from ships) or Global Programmes – makes it difficult to tackle the problem of marine litter.
• Deficiencies in the implementation and enforcement of existing international, regional and national regulations/standards are increasing.
• Lack of awareness among main stakeholders and the general public, is a major reason why ML appears to increase worldwide.
• Lack of regional or sub-regional agreements and programmes hinders regional coordinated approach.
• Marine litter data that is currently collected tends to be ad hoc, inconsistent, poorly collated, and difficult to access. This, in turn prevents establishing ‘status and trend’ comparisons across regions and inhibits the assessment of effectiveness of preventative measures over time.

ABANDONED, LOST, AND DERELICT FISHING GEAR (ALFG) PROBLEM

Abandoned, lost, and derelict fishing gear is a significant and very persistent form of marine litter. It poses a threat to the marine environment, as well as human life and activities. The Regional Seas Programme of UNEP recognises the immediate and direct interconnection between marine litter and lost/abandoned fishing gear and related debris. It also puts significant emphasis on the development of solutions on the basis of international co-operation within the framework of a broader marine litter initiative. Some of the characteristics of the problem are presented below.

• Though evidence of the manufacturing origin of derelict nets can be recorded, it remains unclear which fishing fleets use the gear types found, and therefore who is responsible for their loss and/or disposal.
• There is insufficient information available on the technical, social, cultural and economic factors influencing the loss or disposal of fishing gear at sea.
• There is a diverse range of fishing fleets operating throughout the Asia Pacific region, from large factory trawlers to small subsistence or artisanal fisheries, and fishing debris may occur as a result of deliberate disposal or unintentional loss from any or all of these fleets.
• Measures required to address the technical and socio-economic influences on polluting behaviours within each fisheries sector are potentially very different.
• In order to target effective preventative measures, good information on fishing operations, including the gear types used by each sector, and the reasons for gear loss and/or disposal is critical.
• In many areas of Asia Pacific derelict fishing gear represents the greatest proportion of litter and it tends to be the debris type of greatest concern to coastal communities.
• In many parts of the Asia Pacific, abandoned fishing nets have caused loss of life through damage to vessels at sea.
• Recent ship reports from the Asia Pacific region show an increase of large derelict fishing nets, floating at sea and posing navigational hazard and a significant threat to marine wildlife.
• There is a need to introduce cost effective and efficient procedures for at-sea retrieval of derelict fishing gear, and for responding to community reports of hazardous floating debris.
• Despite a range of measures to control and reduce marine litter currently developed or partially in place in Asia Pacific, marine litter continues to accumulate in many areas of the seas and coastline - indicating the need for enhanced responses and activities on a local, national, regional and international scale.
• There is a need for domestic, bilateral and multilateral measures and multi-sectoral activities to prevent the problem at its source.

POSSIBLE STRATEGIES AND POLICIES TO APPROACH THE PROBLEM OF MARINE LITTER

The problem of marine litter has to be approached simultaneously at national, regional and global levels in order to be effective. In this section of the paper proposals for activities to be carried out at the (a) national and domestic; (b) bilateral and regional; and (c) multilateral, international and global levels are presented.

National and Domestic Activities

• Address gaps in the responsibilities of Government agencies for recovering of large and threatening floating nets or shipping containers.
• Develop economic instruments to address the financial value of abandoning fishing gear at sea.
• Promote and spread of codes of responsible conduct in fisheries, and consider the development of codes for other users of the marine environment.
• Increase the implementation and enforcement of MARPOL Annex V through the development of reception facilities.
• Promote and develop better waste management.
• Allocate legal responsibilities and financial resources to local authorities for regular and mandatory beach clean up operations.
• Encourage and facilitate adequate funding for control of solid pollutants, including litter, in river inputs to the oceans.
• Establish consistent and sustained national approach to litter abatement education.
• Continue support for community and NGO based coastal clean up activity.
• Provide funds and infrastructure for national and regional consistent and sustained monitoring.
• Improve funding for targeted research on the sources, impacts and of marine litter.
  

Bilateral and Regional Activities

• Improve the information available on the sources of ALFG and other types of marine litter (e.g. document net and gear types used by fleets).
• Identify the socio-economic and technical factors influencing the loss and disposal of waste (especially fishing gear and nets) within fisheries through direct engagement with fishing industry participants and coastal communities.
• Investigate possible links between IUU fishing in the region and ghost nets.
• Determine the capacity of ports throughout the region to handle vessel sourced waste, (particularly derelict fishing gear), and investigate the barriers and incentives relevant to the effective use of existing port waste reception facilities.
• Analyze ocean circulation, wind and drift patterns in the region and focus on identifying accumulation areas for marine debris.
• Transfer information and technologies already developed for prevention and cleanup of AFLG at sea or on the bottom.
• Improve information on the impacts of marine debris on wildlife and people.
• Document economic costs of debris to shipping and fishing industries.
• Encourage and assist countries which have not done so to sign, ratify and enforce Annex V of the MARPOL73/78.

Multilateral, International and Global Activities

General

• Initiate Regional Activities as a basis for a Global Approach.
• Build ownerships and partnerships (e.g - the coming GPA IGR 2).
• Develop information and outreach to change human behaviour and attitude.
• Establish science based harmonized monitoring and assessment.
• Develop sectoral activities.
• Raise funds for global and multilateral initiatives.

Specific

• Address and act according to the decisions of the 60th UN General Assembly Resolution (A/60/L.22 - Oceans and the Law of the Sea - of 29 November 2005).
• Review existing structures, processes and tools relevant to the control of marine litter, especially from the perspective of the fishing industry and with special emphasis on the effectiveness of MARPOL Annex V with respect to fishing industries and the management of waste on board fishing vessels (e.g - UNEP-FAO study).
• Identify the socio-economic and technical factors influencing the loss and disposal of waste from vessels, especially fishing vessels.
• Establish a global network of permanent marine litter monitoring sites to promote consistent monitoring and information gathering and exchange, to enable understanding of long-term trends, and to inform adaptive and effective management responses.
• Introduce, through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, FAO, IMO, Regional Seas and other relevant bodies, guidelines or regulations and incentive measures to prevent the disposal of fishing gear, including compulsory reporting of lost fishing gear.
• Increase engagement of countries with the UNEP Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) in order to better address land based sourced of litter.
• Provide funding for research and development that will contribute to solutions, such as on making fishing gear less harmful to marine species and on enabling precise location and identification of the source of derelict nets.
• Improve data collection activities and consolidate existing data on marine debris.
• Develop and establish long term scientific monitoring systems and methodologies. UNEP’S ACTIVITIES ON THE MANAGEMENT OF MARINE LITTER UNEP and its Regional Seas Programme (UNEP/RSP) and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) have been developing and implementing a number of activities on the management of marine litter, amongst others:
• Document “Marine Litter: and analytical overview” was published in 2005 (available on line http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/Publications/Marine_Litter.pdf).
• Leaflet on marine litter “Tightening the noose” was published in 2005.
• The problem of the management of marine litter was reported as a part of the UNEP's contribution to the Secretary General's report on "Oceans and law of the sea" to the sixty-first session of the General Assembly (Nov. 2005).
• An MoU was developed between UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the review of available relevant information and the preparation of a document on “Marine Litter and Abandoned/Lost Fishing Gear”.
• Problem of the management of marine litter was presented in number of international meetings, including UNICPOLOS (June 2005).
• GEF Medium Sized Project “Development of a Global Framework for Marine Litter Reduction” is being prepared (see below).
• Series of regional actions on marine litter in several Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans are being developed (see below).

Most of these activities have been developed by UNEP/RSP in consultation and, if appropriate, in co-operation with UN Agencies, including IMO, IOC of UNESCO, FAO and the Basel Convention. Internal consultations and plans for co-operation were held also with the GPA and the Division of Technology Industry and Economics (DTIE) of UNEP.

GEF MEDIUM SIZED PROJECT “DEVELOPMENT OF A GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR MARINE LITTER REDUCTION”

UNEP/RSP has been developing a ‘global initiative on marine litter management’. Although marine litter is found in all sea areas of the world, this proposed initiative would concentrate on pilot regions that are particularly affected. It would also provide a global platform for co-operation and coordination of activities for the control and management of marine litter.

A first step in this direction is a proposal for a GEF Medium Sized Project “Development of a Global Framework for Marine Litter Reduction” that is being developed by UNEP/RSP. This project would establish the necessary regional foundations and regional/national capacities to address the problem of management of marine litter. The results of this project, through activities in pilot regions (Northwest Pacific, Wider Caribbean and Baltic) will allow further development of a global initiative.

This project is being designed to accelerate international action to reduce the entry of litter into the ocean on a global scale. The project is predicated on the need to formulate an efficient template for regional actions that, when applied systematically and in a harmonized manner, will result in substantial reductions in marine litter. Accordingly, the project has been designed both to develop a generic approach to the control of litter susceptible to contaminating the marine environment and to implement this approach to specific pilot regions as large-scale demonstrations of its effectiveness and benefits as a pilot for subsequent widespread application on a global basis.

The general objective of the project is to provide in selected pilot regions a demonstrated basis for a global platform for the coordination of activities for the control and management of litter to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the inadvertent entry of litter into the marine environment. The resultant framework will cover all land-based and maritime activities as well as tourism and recreation pursuits that contribute to marine litter in varying degrees throughout the globe.

The specific objectives of this project are:

• To develop assessment and review mechanisms relating to marine litter mitigation and prevention applicable at regional level.
• Apply these mechanisms in selected pilot regions as a basis for formulating regional action plans for addressing the problem of marine litter.
• To review and evaluate the pilot regional applications of the procedures as a means of preparing a globally-applicable framework for the implementation of measures to reduce marine litter from all sources at regional levels that include indicators of success.

The outcome of the project will be a platform for immediate application in marine and coastal regions by coordinated action by individual countries under regional marine agreements (such as the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans) for the systematic reduction of global contamination of the marine environment by litter.

Each of the selected pilot regions has already demonstrated a commitment to initiating action aimed at improving the management of litter to reduce the entry of such material into the marine environments of these regions. There are clearly benefits in the collaborative development of action on this topic that will ensure that any approach adopted is both efficient and harmonized at a global level. Parties to the regional agreements in all three regions comprise both developing and developed states.

UNEP’S ACTIVITIES IN REGIONAL SEAS

Regional actions on marine litter are being developed in following Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans areas: Black Sea; Caspian Sea; East Asian Seas (COBSEA); Mediterranean; Nairobi Convention and East Africa; Northwest Pacific (NOWPAP); Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA); South Asia Seas (SACEP); South East Pacific (CPPS); and Wider Caribbean. Additional regions that may start this activity soon are the Pacific (PREP).

The regional activities are arranged through the agreement (MoU or other agreement) concluded between the Regional Organisation and UNEP/RSP on the management of marine litter in the region. The activities and collection of information are carried out through the regional and national consultants. Each of the regions has a tailor made programme and a work plan based on the same concept and activities described below.

Objective of the Agreement

The objective of the MoU (or similar agreement) is to assist in the environmental protection and sustainable development in the relevant region through the development of a “Regional Programme of Action of the Sustainable Management of Marine Litter in the Region (RPA/ML)”.

Activities and Outputs

The main activities and outputs of a standard agreement with the relevant regional organisation are:

(a) Preparation of the Review Document on Marine Litter in the region.

A Review Document on Marine Litter in the region, to be prepared by a regional consultant, should include, among others, collection and review of existing institutional arrangements; capacities and funding resources; data and information on marine litter in the marine and coastal environment; legal and administrative instruments; programmes and initiatives; identification of gaps and needs in coverage of marine litter management; and proposals for changes and recommendations. Such Review document should be based on national reports (compiled by national experts/consultants and preferably based on standard questionnaires) and other available documents and information, such as relevant scientific papers and other sources and literature.

(b) Preparation of proposals for national and regional monitoring and evaluation programmes.

Proposal(s) for national and regional monitoring and assessment programmes should include the development of appropriate methodologies for the assessment of volumes, compositions, distribution patterns and trends of marine litter in the region. The methodologies suggested should preferably be based on successful experiences gained in other regions.

(c) Organization of a regional meeting of national authorities and experts on Marine Litter.

A Report of the Regional Meeting will provide an assessment of the regional situation and will discuss the products of activities (a) and (b).

(d) Mobilization of the countries in the region to participate in a Regional Cleanup Day, within the framework of the International Coastal Cleanup Campaign.

(e) A Report on the participation of countries of the region in the Regional Beach Cleanup Day, in which the countries will participate, within the framework of the International Coastal Cleanup Campaign to promote awareness and education campaigns.

(f) Based on the products of activities (a) to (d) preparation of a “Regional Plan of Action on the Sustainable Management of Marine Litter in the Region".

REFERENCES

Adler E., 2005: UNEP Challenges the Global Problem of Marine Litter, Paper for the NOWPAP workshop on management of Marine Litter, UNEP, Regional Seas, Nairobi, Kenya

Kiessling I., 2005: Proposed strategy for finding solutions to marine debris, Discussion paper, 28 October 2005. Marine Division, National Oceans Office Branch, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australia

UNEP, 2005: UNEP Regional Seas Programme, Marine Litter And Abandoned Fishing Gear, Report to the Division of Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, UNHQ, Regional Seas Coordinating Office, UNEP, Nairobi; April 2005.

UNEP, 2005a: Marine Litter, and analytical overview.

UNEP, 2006: UNEP Challenges the Global Problem of Marine Litter.