A Review of Research on Marine Plastics in Southeast Asia: Who Does What?

A team of marine science and ocean law and policy researchers from the National University of Singapore has reviewed the status of research on marine plastics in Southeast Asia. The team includes CIL Senior Research Fellow Youna Lyons, Theresa Linting and Mei Lin Neo from St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the Tropical Marine Science Institute.

Their report is both a review of research and a research guide on marine plastics in Southeast Asia for anyone who has an interest in the topic and needs to understand who does what at regional and international levels as well as in academia. It includes a review of scientific research on pollution from marine plastics as well as the regional and global institutional and legal frameworks, initiatives and programmes relevant to the region. The geographic scope of this work is primarily focussed on the ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

This report identifies different research areas in marine sciences on the general topic of pollution by marine plastics in the region and their alignment with intergovernmental initiatives and programmes. It also proposes a risk-based approach to research prioritisation and topics of highest research priority.

Click on the links below for download:

Full report
Executive summary

This report has been realised at CIL in the context of a wider research focus on regional governance of the marine environment. It is also part of several parallel efforts at NUS that seek to understand and combat marine plastics in the region. The authors would like to thank the Government of the United Kingdom for the support provided through the British High Commission in Singapore. The report was first published on the website of the Government of the United Kingdom.