Papers

61,005 results
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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

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
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

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

Stemming the Tide of Plastic Marine Litter: A Global Action Agenda

This policy brief reviews global agreements and national policies relevant to marine plastic litter and provides a set of recommendations for reducing ocean plastic pollution by 2025. An estimated 20 million tons of plastic litter enter the ocean each year, causing environmental and economic harms that require coordinated international action.

2013 eScholarship (California Digital Library) 46 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
Review Tier 2

Microplastics: A Review of Policies and Responses

This critical review assembled current knowledge on policies and regulatory responses to plastic pollution globally, including legislative measures, economic instruments, and voluntary commitments. The authors identify a gap between scientific evidence and policy action and call for stronger, more coordinated international governance of plastic pollution.

2022 Microplastics 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Humanity is being driven ashore : a juridical and political essay on marine plastic pollution

This essay examines the legal and political dimensions of marine plastic pollution, reviewing international agreements and their limitations in curbing the flow of plastic waste into oceans. It argues that stronger global governance frameworks are needed to protect marine environments from plastic contamination.

2019 Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT)
Article Tier 2

Plastic marine pollution

This paper analyzes the causes and consequences of marine plastic pollution, reviews alternative solutions proposed by various actors, and assesses the effectiveness of current international actions. It concludes that existing efforts are insufficient given the scale of plastic entering the oceans each year.

2019 Prosperitas
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

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

Fish Don't Litter in Your House: Is International Law the Solution to the Plastic Pollution Problem?

This legal analysis examines whether existing international law is adequate to address ocean plastic pollution, critiquing current binding and non-binding environmental agreements and proposing improvements. Stronger international legal frameworks are seen as essential for reducing the global plastic waste that breaks down into microplastics in the world's oceans.

2020 Pace international law review 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine litter: how to monitor, reduce and prevent ocean debris. Focus on plastics and microplastics.

This report reviewed the growing problem of plastic pollution in the oceans and the policy landscape for addressing it, emphasizing that production, use, and end-of-life management all require reform. It frames plastic pollution as a systemic challenge requiring coordinated international action rather than single-issue solutions.

2018 IOC of UNESCO (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Why we need an international agreement on marine plastic pollution

This commentary argues for the establishment of an international agreement to address marine plastic pollution, noting that plastic debris including microplastics is a pervasive global threat to marine biodiversity, ecosystem services, and potentially human health. The authors highlight that existing regulatory frameworks are insufficient to manage the transboundary nature of the problem. The study calls for measurable reduction targets and coordinated international action to curb the flow of plastic into the world's oceans.

2017 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 275 citations
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

Regulation, Legislation and Policy—An International Perspective

This review examines international regulatory frameworks for marine plastic pollution under UNCLOS and related agreements, analyzing the obligations of national governments to prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution and the challenges of implementation.

2023 Springer textbooks in earth sciences, geography and environment 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Governance solutions to the 'tragedy' of marine plastics

This paper analyzed the governance challenges of marine plastic pollution, framing it as a collective action problem similar to a tragedy of the commons and reviewing international governance frameworks for addressing it. The authors argue that current mechanisms are insufficient and propose strengthened global governance solutions.

2018 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Oceans

This review provides an overview of microplastic pollution in the world's oceans, covering sources, distribution patterns, ecological impacts, and the challenges of monitoring and remediation at global scale. The authors emphasize the urgent need for international policy coordination and improved waste management.

2024 Practice, progress, and proficiency in sustainability
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

The Problem of Plastic Waste Pollution in the World Ocean

This review examines plastic waste as the dominant and most persistent component of marine litter -- representing at least 85% of total marine debris -- summarizing lethal and sublethal effects on marine megafauna, invertebrates, and plankton, and discussing sources, transport pathways, and the policy landscape for reducing ocean plastic pollution.

2022 Bulletin of the National Technical University «KhPI» Series New solutions in modern technologies
Article Tier 2

Towards a Sustainable Ocean Ecosystem: Innovations in Plastic Pollution Mitigation, Policy Collaborations, and Technological Advancements

This review examined innovations in ocean plastic pollution mitigation, including clean-up technologies, international policy collaborations, and engineering advances, synthesizing the current state of efforts to address the global plastic waste crisis in marine environments.

2023 Journal of Student Research 4 citations
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
Review Tier 2

Politics and the plastic crisis: A review throughout the plastic life cycle

This political science review analyzed over 180 studies on the governance of plastics across their full life cycle, finding that marine pollution and microplastics are driving the fastest growth in plastic policy research. The authors identify fragmented governance architectures and the absence of binding international agreements as major obstacles to addressing the global plastic crisis.

2019 Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Energy and Environment 466 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Litter: Solutions for a Major Environmental Problem

This paper reviews the sources, distribution, and impacts of marine litter — primarily plastics — on beaches and oceans, and surveys proposed solutions ranging from improved waste management to policy interventions and cleanup technologies. It provides a broad overview of the challenge of reducing plastic pollution at a global scale.

2019 Journal of Coastal Research 196 citations