The objective of NOWPAP is to protect the regional marine environment under international cooperation between the four member states. NOWPAP initiated marine litter (ML) activities following the decision at the Tenth NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting in 2005. NOWPAP established a new project, the Marine Litter Activity (MALITA), and developed the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) in 2008 to address ML issues. Because of the serious nature of MPL including MPs pollution in the NOWPAP region, the NOWPAP member states need to share information on their respective national actions that enhance their respective capacities to tackle this problem. The best practices carried out by the NOWPAPmember states can also be useful examples for other countries and regions. Therefore, the SpecialMonitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) collected information regarding actions taken against MPs by the NOWPAPmember states.
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.