The ad hoc open-ended expert group on marine litter and microplastics was established at the third session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in response to UNEP/EA.3/Res.7 Marine Litter and Microplastics. At the fourth session of UNEA the mandate of the expert group was extended, pursuant to operative paragraph 7 of resolution UNEP/EA.4/Res.6 Marine plastic litter and microplastics.
AHEG 1
The first meeting of the expert group was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 29 to 31 May 2018. The meeting report can be accessed here: link to the report. You can also access all the documents and information pertaining to the first meeting here.
AHEG 2
The second meeting of the expert group was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 3 to 7 December 2018. The report and outcome documents are accessible here. You can also access all the documents and information pertaining to the second meeting here.
Through resolution UNEP/EA.4/Res.6, UNEA requested the expert group, building on its previous work, to until its fifth session:
(a) Take stock of existing activities and action by governments, regional and global instruments, international organizations, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other relevant contributors to reduce marine plastic litter and microplastics with the aim of the long-term elimination of discharge into the oceans;
(b) Identify technical and financial resources or mechanisms for supporting countries in addressing marine plastic litter and microplastics;
(c) Encourage partnerships that undertake activities such as the development of source inventories, the improvement of waste management, awareness-raising and the promotion of innovation in relation to the prevention of marine litter, including plastic litter and microplastics;
(d) Analyse the effectiveness of existing and potential response options and activities with regard to marine litter and microplastics at all levels to determine the contribution that they make to solving the global problem.
AHEG 3
The third meeting of the expert group was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 18 to 22 November 2019. The outcome document and the meeting report from the third meeting of the expert group can be found here in all languages: [ عربي - 中文版 - English - Français - Русский - Español ]. You can also access all the documents and information pertaining to the third meeting here.
In December 2019, following the third meeting of the expert group, member States and Stakeholders were invited to provide written inputs for any or all of the below listed work streams, through the following website: https://papersmart.unon.org/resolution/reporting-tool
- Voluntary inputs on examples of approaches to analyze effectiveness (subparagraph 7d in UNEA resolution 4/6) – Submission deadline: 10 January 2020;
- Voluntary inputs to the report on stocktaking (subparagraph 7a in UNEA resolution 4/6) - Submission deadline: 1 February 2020;
- Updates of relevant previous submissions to the first and second meeting of the expert group, pursuant to paragraph 10 of UNEA resolution 3/7 – Submission deadline: preferably by 1 February 2020;
- Submission of potential response options, pursuant to subparagraph 10d of UNEA resolution 3/7 – Submission deadline: 1 February 2020.
AHEG 4
The fourth meeting of the ad hoc open-ended expert group on marine litter and microplastics (AHEG-4) took place virtually from 9 to 13 November 2020. Working documents, submissions, presentations and recordings for the meeting, are all available online. The AHEG Chair’s summary is accessible here