The study of nearly 400 scientific publications on marine plastic pollution in South East and East Asia shows that while a substantial amount of research on plastic pollution already exists, significant gaps remain that may limit evidence-based decision making. The amount and depth of research varies greatly across countries and a wide variation in methodologies limits collaborative action, data integration and the establishment of regional baselines. Understanding of impacts of plastics and contaminants on the marine environment, of social perceptions and behaviour change, of issues related to plastic behaviour, transport, transformation and fragmentation, and of sea-based sources of pollution remains limited.
The review was developed by an interdisciplinary research team at NUS led by the Centre for International Law, with support from COBSEA under the UNEP-COBSEA regional marine litter project SEA circular and support by the Singapore Maritime Institute. The online inventory is available online at: https://cutt.ly/MLdatabase
