Helcom : Problem of marine litter

Front page
About HELCOM
Vacancies
Contact us
The Helsinki Convention
Ministerial Declarations
Recommendations
Baltic Sea Action Plan
Groups
- MONAS
- LAND
- HABITAT
- MARITIME
- RESPONSE
Projects
Publications
Press office
Meetings and Documents
Manuals and guidelines
Indicator Fact Sheets
Shipping
The marine environment
Data and maps

Problem of marine litter

The worldwide problem of marine litter, also known as marine debris or marine garbage, is recognized and considered to be one of the major threats to the oceans around the world.

UNEP (GPA and the Regional Seas Programme), through its Global Marine Litter Initiative, took an active lead in addressing the challenge, among others, by assisting 12 Regional Seas around the world in organizing and implementing regional activities on marine litter, including the Baltic Sea.

The project “Assessment of the Marine Litter problem in the Baltic region and priorities for response”, co-funded by UNEP, has been the first effort in HELCOM area to look into the scale of the problem, the availability of information and the actions needed in order to develop and implement a regional strategy for addressing marine litter.