United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Law Division is providing guidance to EAS countries to strengthen national legislation and/ or regulations based on National Action Plans on Marine Litter (or similar). The aim is to strengthen national legislative action on marine litter in EAS countries by identifying priority options to improve governance frameworks and recommend steps for further implementation.
The activity will be carried out by a consultant under the supervision of UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in close collaboration with the COBSEA Secretariat and in consultation with COBSEA national focal agencies and marine litter focal points, in line with the COBSEA RAP MALI and United Nations Environment Assembly resolutions on marine litter. The activity builds on efforts under the SEA circular project, implemented jointly by UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and COBSEA, to strengthen marine litter planning in the region.
This support is part of UNEP’s technical assistance for national source inventories, national action plans, and development of a global digital platform on marine litter under the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), contributing to United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 3/7 para 7 and 4/6 para 3. Recommendations for legislative action may inform further development of the East Asian Seas Regional Node of the GPML.
Specifically, this activity entails:
- Identifying up to 2 COBSEA countries for national-level legislative support based on expressions of interest received by the COBSEA Secretariat;
- Conducting a gap analysis and needs assessment of law and governance and regulatory frameworks related to addressing plastic pollution and marine litter in target countries, including desk review and consultations as needed;
- Identifying priority options to develop and strengthen legal frameworks and steps for further implementation;
- Present findings and recommendations to COBSEA national focal agencies and relevant national entities and partners for validation and to inform further planning.
COBSEA National Focal Agencies are invited to submit an expression of interest to receive guidance to strengthen legal frameworks through UNEP Law Division, to be submitted to the COBSEA Secretariat. Expressions of interest to be sent to COBSEA Secretariat (unep-cobsea@un.org) by 14 May 2021.
