Youna Lyons, Lim Cheng Ling and Yulu Liu from the Ocean Law and Policy Programme of the Centre for International Law, were invited as speakers to The Way Forward for a Stronger Regional and International Cooperation on Marine Plastic Debris, an online forum hosted by the Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN in collaboration with Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

The online meeting held on Zoom on 23 June 2022, opened with remarks by Ambassador Kwon Hee-seog, Republic of Korea’s Mission to ASEAN. The forum intended to raise awareness on the current alarming situation surrounding marine plastics and the urgent needs to address this issue internationally, and to stocktake the prevention and mitigation efforts undertaken by different stakeholders and receive recommendations from them. With the presentations and discussions, this forum aims to formulate policy recommendations to advance the UNEA 5.2 resolution for a global plastic treaty, especially in ASEAN countries. The forum was divided into two sessions: (1) Stocktaking of regional efforts on marine plastic debris and (2) Ways to strengthen regional and international cooperation on marine plastic debris. Panelists invited to the forum were from both science and policy sectors, and the topics covered by panellists included the ASEAN Regional Action Plan 2021-25, regional cooperation and good practices on marine debris and extended producer responsibility.

Youna, Cheng Ling and Yulu’s presentation was on intervention policies and regulations on single-use plastics restrictions in the ASEAN +3 region and their effectiveness. The team introduced the regional research inventory on marine plastics to the audience and proposed a model to evaluate the effectiveness of single-use plastic bans. In addition, they discussed the possible options to enhance the implementation, monitoring and compliance of such policies.

CIL presentation can be downloaded here.