Marine Environment

CIL is currently engaged in two major projects related to the governance and management of the marine environment in Southeast Asia. The first project is on the study of the ASEAN legal, institutional and governance framework on the marine environment, and the extent to which it is implementing international law. The second project is on pollution from marine plastics in the region.

With regard to CIL’s work on pollution from marine plastics, CIL has thus far carried out the following activities:

1. A 2020 report on “Status of Research, Legal and Policy Efforts on Marine Plastics in ASEAN+3: A Gap Analysis at the Interface of Science, Law and Policy”, written in collaboration with the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), with support from the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) and the SEA circular project implemented by COBSEA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This report was prepared with the aim of supporting and strengthening marine litter research and informing more robust policy making, in line with applicable regional frameworks on marine litter.
2. The co-organising of two sessions on “Understanding the Science and Governance of Pollution of Marine Plastics in Southeast Asia” at the SEA of Solutions conference in November 2019, which was organised by the UN Environment in Bangkok, Thailand.
3. A 2019 report on “A Review of Research on Marine Plastics in Southeast Asia: Who Does What?”, written in partnership with St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the Tropical Marine Science Institute. The study was funded by the Government of the United Kingdom and supported by the Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (ACOPS).

Click here for more information on CIL’s activities on pollution from marine plastics.