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On 3-4 May 2023, the OECD, the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia and the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organised the 3rd Regional Ocean Policy Dialogue on Marine Plastic Pollution in Southeast Asia (in Bali, Indonesia) to discuss common challenges in data collection and analysis, policy coherence, and financing to tackle marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia, as a hybrid event.

Ocean pollution from plastics poses a significant environmental challenge globally and especially for the Southeast Asia (SEA) region. Marine plastic pollution causes adverse effects not only for marine biodiversity, but also for a wide number of ocean economy sectors, such as tourism, fishing, and coastal-based industries. This 3^rd Regional Ocean Policy Dialogue provided an opportunity to:

• Exchange on the role of  data and information in promoting evidence-based policymaking to tackle marine plastic pollution;
• Discuss how to foster policy coherence in government and across key sectors, noting that marine plastic pollution is a cross-cutting issue that affects the mandates of several sectoral Ministries; and
• Propose existing and innovative ways to mobilise finance to tackle marine plastic pollution, including the role of development co-operation.

 

Participation

Co-organised in co-operation with the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment and with UNEP/COBSEA, it welcomed senior officials from ten ASEAN Member governments responsible for plastic waste management and marine pollution, representatives of the local administrations responsible for municipal waste management, the ASEAN Secretariat, the various country ministries in consultation with whom the OECD Country Consultations on marine plastic pollution were carried out throughout Q4 2022 – Q2 2023, as well as stakeholders from international organisations, academia, private sector and civil society working on marine plastic pollution-related issues in Southeast Asia.

Meeting documents

Agenda and concept note Speakers' presentations Logistics: On-site participation | Remote participation
	Download the Key Issues Note (PDF)

BACKGROUND

Since 2019, the OECD project Driving a sustainable ocean economy in Southeast Asia has focused on addressing ocean pollution from plastics in the SEA region, by convening policymakers and relevant stakeholders at the regional, national, and local levels to discuss co-ordinated and coherent policy approaches to curb marine plastic pollution, how finance may be mobilised to address the problem of plastic pollution at the source, as well as clarifying what are the data and information gaps that need to be filled, and how work from the OECD, COBSEA and other international organisations and bilateral donors can support governments in the SEA region to fill those gaps.

Also available

• 2nd Regional Ocean Policy Dialogue: Financing Solutions to address marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia
• 1st Regional Ocean Policy Dialogue: Harnessing the Sustainable Ocean Economy in Southeast Asia - Summary Report and Agenda

 

READ MORE

• OECD work for a sustainable ocean
  

 

Contact

For further information, please write to:

• Eija KIISKINEN and Bum Cheul PARK, OECD Environment Directorate.

 

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