Documents

Marine litter, including plastic and microplastic, is a global concern affecting all the oceans and seas of the world. It poses environmental, economic, health and aesthetic problems that are rooted in poor solid waste management practices, lack of infrastructure, indiscriminate human activities and behaviours and an inadequate understanding on the part of the public of the potential consequences of their actions. Development of the Caspian Marine Litter Action Plan is embodied in the Moscow Protocol against pollution from land-based sources. 

The preparation of the draft Caspian Regional Marine Litter Action Plan (CRMLAP) was undertaken by the national experts from the Caspian Sea littoral states and an international expert. For that purpose, five National Experts were contracted to provide their national inputs and contributions for the development of the Caspian Marine Litter Action Plan where the International Expert fully facilitates the development of the Caspian Marine Litter Action Plan.

This volume aims to provide background information on the Caspian Sea in order to support the recommendations in the National Caspian Action Plans (NCAPs) and the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). Thus, this TDA is not merely a State of the Environment report, but also a look into the future based on the current political situation, socio-economic conditions, and legal/regulatory framework. 

This TDA relies on and benefits from the dedicated work of numerous individuals, agencies, institutes, projects and corporations. The major building blocks are the studies and research works conducted and
carried out by the Caspian Regional Thematic Centres. These works have been mostly produced by the national experts of the Caspian countries and have been effectively led and substantially assisted by the National Focal Points (NFPs) and the Management Advisory Group and Inter-sectoral Assistants (MAGICAs). Production of the TDA would have not been possible without the efficient project execution assistance of UNOPS. The overall conceptualization, design, production monitoring and editing of the TDA has been led by the Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) including the Data and Information Management Theme in Baku, Azerbaijan.