During the implementation of NOWPAP Marine Litter Activity, a regional overview regarding marine litter in the NOWPAP region was prepared in October 2007, based on the data and information available in the region (from 2002 to 2005) on existing legal instruments, institutional arrangements, programmes and initiatives. It was then slightly updated and reprinted in 2008. As the third regional overview, this report covers recent developments related to marine litter problem in the NOWPAP region and includes data from 2006 to 2009. The main objective of this assessment is to understand the current status of the marine litter problem in the Northwest Pacific region, its composition and possible sources.
Implementation of NOWPAP contributes to the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) in the Northwest Pacific region.