Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

International Legal Systems in Tackling the Marine Plastic Pollution: A Critical Analysis of UNCLOS and MARPOL

This legal analysis examines how two major international agreements, UNCLOS and MARPOL, address marine plastic pollution and identifies significant gaps in their ability to reduce it. The existing laws lack enforceable requirements for reducing land-based plastic waste and have uneven enforcement of rules for ship-based discharges. The paper proposes strengthening international law to promote a circular economy approach, which matters because marine plastic breaks down into microplastics that enter the seafood supply.

2025 Water 9 citations
Article Tier 2

An International Legal Framework for Marine Plastics Pollution

This legal analysis reviews the current international framework for regulating marine plastics and identifies significant gaps and inconsistencies across treaties and agreements. The chapter argues that stronger, more unified global legal instruments are needed to effectively reduce plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

2023 Cambridge University Press eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Legal Approaches to Reduce Plastic Marine Pollution: Challenges and Global Governance

This review examined legal approaches to reducing marine plastic pollution and found that while international frameworks like the International Maritime Organization's MARPOL Annex V and regional agreements provide useful foundations, significant governance gaps and enforcement challenges remain in addressing the global scale of marine plastic contamination.

2021 ANNALS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PERSPECTIVE 32 citations
Article Tier 2

On the Challenge of Plastic Wastes and Litter in Oceans: Some Policy Reflections

This policy analysis discusses the growing crisis of plastic litter in the world's oceans, reviewing international agreements and national policies aimed at reducing ocean plastic pollution. The authors argue that current policy efforts fall far short of what is needed and propose stronger global governance frameworks.

2021 Environmental Policy and Law
Article Tier 2

The Existence of International Agreements on National and Regional Legislation Related to Handling Marine Plastic Waste in Indonesia

This legal analysis examines how international environmental agreements — including MARPOL, UNCLOS, the Basel Convention, and others — have been incorporated into Indonesian national and regional legislation. Understanding international treaty implementation is relevant to evaluating Indonesia's regulatory framework for addressing marine plastic pollution.

2023 International Journal of Law and Politics Studies
Article Tier 2

International treaties, national laws, and best legal practices for addressing plastic pollution in the oceans

This thesis examines plastic pollution in the world's oceans through the lens of international treaties, national laws, and social dynamics, evaluating the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks and best practices for addressing the growing crisis of marine plastic contamination.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Role of Legislation, Regulatory Initiatives and Guidelines on the Control of Plastic Pollution

This review examines existing plastic pollution regulations globally, finding that despite many proposals and national bans, the overall effectiveness of legislation is unclear and most measures focus narrowly on marine plastics or single-use items. The authors argue that laws often lag behind science and face practical limitations given how deeply embedded plastics are in daily life.

2020 Frontiers in Environmental Science 220 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancing the international regulation of plastic pollution beyond the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution on marine litter and microplastics

This legal paper reviews international frameworks relevant to plastic pollution and argues for a binding global agreement specifically targeting plastic pollution, beyond existing resolutions. A comprehensive international treaty is increasingly seen as necessary to meaningfully reduce plastic pollution, including microplastics.

2018 Review of European Comparative & International Environmental Law 78 citations
Article Tier 2

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea - still relevant to protection of the marine environment?

This chapter evaluates whether the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) remains a useful tool for protecting the marine environment, including from plastic pollution. The author argues that UNCLOS has significant gaps when applied to modern pollution threats. Strengthening or supplementing UNCLOS with new agreements may be necessary to address marine plastic pollution effectively.

2023 Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Liability and Compensation for Marine Plastic Pollution: Conceptual Issues and Possible Ways Forward

This paper reviews international legal frameworks for holding polluters liable for marine plastic pollution, finding that existing liability mechanisms are largely inadequate. Stronger international legal tools would create financial incentives for companies to reduce plastic waste before it reaches the ocean.

2020 AJIL Unbound 8 citations
Article Tier 2

International Law and Regulation of Marine Microplastics: Current Situation, Problems, and Development

This study evaluated the current international legal framework governing marine microplastic pollution and identified significant gaps in regulatory coverage. Researchers found that existing global and regional legal instruments lack the specificity and enforcement mechanisms needed to effectively address microplastic contamination. The study offers recommendations for strengthening international law to better regulate the sources and impacts of marine microplastic pollution.

2024 Sustainability 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Dilemma in global governance of marine plastic pollution and regulatory coordination: convention reconstruction via integrated international law

This legal analysis examined fragmented international governance of marine plastic pollution across 17 instruments including UNCLOS, MARPOL, and regional conventions, identifying a gap between soft law priorities and binding enforcement for microplastics. The authors proposed an integrated umbrella convention framework with specialized protocols to align the Global Plastic Treaty with existing agreements and establish enforceable plastic production caps.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Explore the Impact of Marine Plastic Pollution and Countermeasures

This paper reviewed the scope of marine plastic pollution, its distribution across ocean ecosystems, and its socioeconomic effects on coastal communities, finding that existing international agreements and waste management efforts remain insufficient to address the scale of the problem.

2025 MATEC Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Marine Plastic Pollution and Environmental Problems

This review examines the sources, environmental and socioeconomic effects, and policy responses to marine plastic pollution, finding that while scientific knowledge is substantial, policy and regulatory initiatives have so far been inadequate and inconsistent across countries. The paper calls for stronger international coordination and more effective governance tools to meaningfully reduce plastic inputs to the ocean.

2023 Highlights in Science Engineering and Technology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges for Regulation and Management of Microplastic in Environment and Proposed Changes

This review examines failures in international law and national regulations to adequately address microplastic pollution in water bodies, arguing that recent treaty negotiations have been insufficient and proposing regulatory changes to better manage microplastics in the environment.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Arrangements of Compensation for Marine Pollution by Plastic Waste in Indonesia

This legal analysis examines Indonesia's domestic and international obligations for compensating marine pollution caused by plastic waste, assessing existing frameworks under UNCLOS and domestic environmental law and identifying gaps in liability coverage.

2025 Jurnal Paradigma Hukum Pembangunan
Article Tier 2

Suggestions for a Systematic Regulatory Approach to Ocean Plastics

This study investigates the regulatory challenges posed by ocean plastic pollution and proposes a systematic, multi-actor regulatory framework integrating scientific findings, existing strategies, and action plans across four intervention areas. The authors argue that coordinated international regulatory approaches are needed to effectively address the more than eight million tonnes of plastic entering oceans annually.

2021 Foods 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Plastic Monitoring, Assessment, and Policy

This review covers the current state of marine plastic monitoring systems, assessment frameworks, and policy instruments globally, examining data collection methods, international agreements, and gaps in enforcement. The authors highlight that inconsistent monitoring protocols and lack of binding global treaty mechanisms remain critical barriers to effective marine plastic governance.

2025
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution of the world’s seas and oceans as a contemporary challenge in ocean governance

This paper frames plastic pollution of the world's seas and oceans as a defining contemporary challenge in ocean stewardship, reviewing the scale of the problem and arguing for urgent policy and management responses.

2018 Nature Communications 492 citations
Article Tier 2

Legislation and Policy on Pollution Prevention and the Control of Marine Microplastics

This review analyses international legislation and policies targeting marine microplastic pollution, finding that most existing regulations focus narrowly on microbeads while failing to address other microplastic types, and identifies three systemic dilemmas that impede more comprehensive regulatory frameworks.

2022 Water 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Legal Analysis of the Prevention of Marine Microplastics Pollution

This legal analysis examines international law frameworks governing marine microplastic pollution prevention, identifying obstacles including enforcement difficulties, weak jurisdictional clarity, and insufficient coordination among existing treaty regimes, while noting growing attention to microplastics in UN General Assembly resolutions and calling for stronger multilateral legal mechanisms.

2022 Law and Economy
Article Tier 2

Legal and Policy Frameworks to Address Marine Litter Through Improved Livelihoods

This chapter reviews international and regional legal and policy frameworks addressing marine litter, examining how regulatory instruments can improve livelihoods while tackling plastic pollution across the product lifecycle from design to waste management.

2022 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Legal Issues on Indonesian Marine Plastic Debris Pollution

This paper reviews the legal and regulatory challenges Indonesia faces in addressing marine plastic debris pollution, arguing that existing laws are insufficient and poorly enforced. The review calls for more effective legislation and international cooperation to reduce one of the world's top contributors to ocean plastic pollution.

2020 Indonesia Law Review 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Managing Marine Plastic Pollution: Policy Initiatives to Address Wayward Waste

This policy analysis reviews local, national, and international initiatives aimed at reducing marine plastic pollution, from plastic bag bans to proposed international agreements. While policy action is growing, the article highlights that global coordination and enforcement remain major challenges in meaningfully reducing ocean plastic waste.

2015 Environmental Health Perspectives 73 citations