United Nations Environment Program
Canterbury School MUN Conference 2017
United Nations Environment Program Background Guide
The UNEP was established at the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in
Stockholm in 1972 in order to link social issues to environmental policies and programs. UNEP
is led by a UN Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, and supported by a Deputy
Director. The committee represents the UN’s voice in terms of environmental issues. UNEP also
acts as a catalyst, advocate educator, and facilitator for the purpose of promoting the sustainable
development of the global environment. The primary work conducted by UNEP includes
assessing global, regional, and national environmental trends and conditions, developing
international environmental instruments, as well as strengthening institutions for a wiser
management of the environment.
I. Combating the Accumulation and Production of Marine Debris
Statement of the Issue
A recent simulation estimated that 5.25 trillion plastic particles with a combined weight
of 269,000 tons are currently floating in the world’s oceans.2 Plastic waste makes up the
majority of marine debris and is particularly problematic, as many plastics do not degrade in the
presence of water.3 Once this waste enters the ecosystem it is often consumed by fish, turtles,
birds, and other organisms that mistake it for food or simply consume it along with other food.4
This is not only threatens to the organism itself since the debris can cause internal injuries and
block its digestive tract, but also other organisms since plastic debris that enters the food web
accumulates in organisms that consume others that consume the plastic. For this reason, small
plastic pellets used in the manufacture have been particularly problematic. Colloquially called
“nurdles,” these round white pellets strongly resemble fish eggs, and a 1998 survey in California
found that they comprised 98% of pollution collected on beaches in Orange County California.5
Plastic debris also can also leach toxic substances used in its production into the environment,
and other pollutants can collect on the surface of plastic debris which causes organisms to
consume it along with the plastic. These pollutants also accumulate in organisms in higher
trophic levels, as they often are soluble in fat and thus build up in fatty tissue. This can cause a
number of health issues in those organisms as well as human communities that rely on marine
life for food. In 2008, Faroese chief medical officers warned against the traditional consumption
of pilot whale meat when it was found to contain excessively high levels of mercury, PCB’s, and
DDT.6Larger debris also poses a threat to marine life. Dense materials sink to the ocean floor
where they can endanger other marine habitats. At particular risk are coral reefs which are also
threatened by ocean acidification and rising water temperatures. Coral reefs comprise the most
biologically diverse aquatic habitats, and the other threats they face are only exacerbated by
marine debris which can crush and smother coral.7 Large pieces of debris on the ocean’s surface
can also threaten coastal habitats by transporting invasive species to new habitats where they can
compete with and threaten local populations.
Perhaps the type of debris that poses the greatest threat to marine life is ghost nets. Ghost
nets include abandoned crab traps as well as fishing nets that continue to catch marine life long
after being abandoned. Abandoned nets indiscriminately entangle marine life that comes in
contact with them including turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals. An estimated 100,000
marine mammals and over a million seabirds die each year from becoming entangled in ghost
nets.8 Gillnets are particularly dangerous, as they are suspended vertically in the water. Because
of this, a durable gillnet can remained suspended in the water for long periods of time after it is
abandoned and efficiently catch a variety of marine life as if it was still in use.9
The economic impacts of marine debris are just as far reaching as the environmental impacts. To
begin with, the environmental impacts of marine debris, like a reduction in biodiversity and the
destruction of marine habitats, reduce the productivity of fisheries and endanger the food security
of millions of people who rely on the world's oceans for food. Marine debris also negatively
impacts coastal communities whose economies rely on tourism. The infamous syringe tide is
estimated to have caused New Jersey tourism revenue losses of over $1 billion in 1988.10 Lastly,
marine debris poses a navigational hazard to both large and small vessels. Large pieces of debris
can cause substantial structural damage to small boats and ships, and smaller debris can tangle
propellers and clog intakes.
History
The danger that marine debris poses to marine life has been known since the Second
World War. In 1944 the first animals documented to become entangled in debris were fur seals
that became trapped in the remains of food-drop bags that the Japanese military used during their
invasion of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.11 After the war, the widespread use of plastics
especially in packaging and consumer products along with the rise of so called “throw-away
culture” that promoted single use plastic goods accelerated the issue of marine debris, as much of
the plastic waste it created found its way into the world’s oceans either as litter or runoff from
landfills. By 1962, seabirds in New Zealand and Canada were discovered to have ingested
plastics, and a 1966 survey of dead adolescent albatross in northwest Hawaii found that three
quarters had ingested plastic debris.12
Around the same time, the danger posed by entanglement in debris became apparent. The
incidence of entangled of fur seals in the Bering Sea rose of one in 500 in 1967 to over one in
150 in 1975, and although the incidence rate fell and stabilized in the early 1980’s, entanglement
in debris was still able to drive population decline. By 1973, fish and birds were reported
entangled in rubber bands, six-pack rings, plastic bags, and other debris.
It was at this time in 1972 when the United States passed it first regulatory acts to protect its
waterways from pollution. These acts include the Clean Water Act, Coastal Zone Management
Act, and Ocean Dumping Act which regulated the amount pollution and gave the States and
Coast Guard the authority to regulate dumping in U.S. waters. Further legislation like the Marine
Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act and the Shore protection act sought to reduce the
production of marine debris by prohibiting dumping in the United States’ exclusive economic
zone and regulating waste transport.
However none of this legislation addresses the fact that an estimated 80% of marine
debris originates on land.14 The famous Syringe Tide of 1987-88 devastated the economies of
coastal communities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut after medical waste and other
garbage washed up on Beaches in those states causing some communities even far removed of
the affected areas to lose 40% of their expected tourism revenue in 1988 when the debris scared
tourist away from beaches across those states. The source of the debris was identified as the
Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, New York where garbage fell into the nearby Fresh Kills
estuary that carried it into New York Bay. New York City ultimately accepted responsibility the
clean-up effort and agreed to provide the estimated $10 to $15 million to remove the debris.
The Syringe tide demonstrated that marine debris can affect communities far removed
from the source of the waste. This was further demonstrated by the so called “Friendly Floatees”
that fell off of a container ship in 1992. The Friendly Floatees are 29,000 bath toys including
yellow rubber ducks that fell off a container ship in the North Pacific when their shipping
container broke open in a storm. Some of the Floatees drifted through the world’s oceans for
over a decade before washing ashore in the Scotland in 2003, over 17,000 miles from where they
fell overboard.16 The path that the Floatees drifted actually gave oceanographers new insight on
the oceanic currents. Spills from container ships are actually quite common as other incidents of
shipping containers falling overboard occurred in 1990 and 1994 when shipments of Nike
sneakers and hockey equipment spilled into the ocean and ultimately washed ashore and also
used to study ocean currents17
Current Situation
Currently, the situation regarding marine debris is improving with increased
environmental awareness; however, a lot of work still must be done to remedy the situation.
Around the world there are areas known as garbage patches have developed. These are not areas
where garbage has created a permanent station, but is rather a fluid and moving body where
marine debris seems to be concentrated from sea currents. Additionally, the trouble in cleaning
up these areas of concentrated garbage is that there isn’t a feasible option to clean up the small
pieces of plastic and transport it effectively, especially when the concentration of marine debris
isn’t in permanent locations. If small scale cleanup operations were enacted, they run the risk of
harming the ocean life that lives there at the same time. Therefore, the issue of cleaning garbage
patches is a delicate one.
Since marine debris has serious impacts on shipping, commerce, and biodiversity, many
actions have been taken to combat the issue of marine debris. New Zealand is currently
implementing a plan that reduces marine debris from New Zealand shipping vessels that uses a
partnership between government agencies, non-government organizations, and the fishing
industry to implement strategies dedicated to targeting the issue of marine debris. South Korea is
currently using an educational kit to show fisherman how to reduce marine debris.19
The global community has also begun to acknowledge the importance of cleaning marine debris.
The 65th session of the UN General Assembly resolved that the issue of marine debris needs to
be solved rapidly and urged member states to adopt policies that were centered around
preventing, reducing, and controlling the pollution levels of the world’s oceans. This resolution
asked states to cooperate regionally and work together to effectively combat what is indeed a
global phenomenon. Additionally, the UN General Assembly endorsed the Rio+20 Outcome
Document, a huge step for establishing oceanographic wellbeing.20
The Rio +20 Outcome Document established the notion that the oceans are indeed in trouble and
asked that committed nations take action so that by the year 2025, there is a significant decrease
in marine debris. The document further acknowledged the importance of local and national
policies targeting the issue of waste reduction and urged nations work on developing and
enforcing these practices, especially in regards to plastic waste.
Currently, the largest legal framework addressing the issue of marine waste is UNCLOS, which
calls for the protection of the oceans from all forms of marine debris and waste. Specifically,
Article 207 asks that states pass legislation aimed at mitigating the issue of pollution.
Analysis
Marine debris poses a great threat not only to marine ecosystems, but also many coastal
communities that rely on the ocean for food, tourism, and transportation. The environmental
devastation that it brings endangers the survival of a diverse array of marine species, through
habitat destruction, entanglement, and the health issues associated with the consumption of
plastic and the potentially harmful substances that they leach into the environment. This can have
disastrous effects for communities that rely on the ocean for food as toxic substances that
accumulate in marine organisms can harm the people that consume them, and the loss of marine
life and biodiversity associated with marine debris reduces the productivity of the waters that
sustain them. Furthermore, debris can travel long distances and wash ashore far from its point of
origin. This is particularly problematic for coastal communities with tourism based economies,
as it makes beaches less desirable and scares off potential visitors.
While there are many efforts currently underway to fight the problem of marine debris, some
methods used to remove debris can further harm marine life and contribute to the environmental
damage, and current measures aimed at fighting the production of marine debris are largely
ineffective and fail to address the fact that much of the debris originates on land.
Conclusion
Marine debris is a pressing issue that has greatly increased in scope over the last half
century. The international community must act swiftly and effectively to solve these issues, but it
must do so in a way that does not further harm marine ecosystems. It must balance the needs of
developing economies that rely on manufacturing with the needs of coastal communities whose
economies that rely on the health of world’s oceans. This body must come together and act to
create an effective solution to this issue that respects the needs of all of its members.
Questions to Consider
What methods can be used to effectively clean garbage patches without harming marine
ecosystems?
Who will take responsibility for removing debris from international waters?
Since their waste contributes to the problem, but they see few of its negative effects,
how much should landlocked states contribute to cleanup efforts?
How will landlocked states be incentivized to reduce waste and contribute to cleanup
efforts?
What measures can be taken to reduce the amount of debris that originates on land?
How will the amount of industrial waste be reduced without hurting important
industries like manufacturing on which developing economies rely?
Works Cited
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the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at
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Carswell, Ben, Kris McElwee, and Sarah Morison. "Technical Proceedings of the Fifth
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Eriksen, Marcus, Laurent C. M. Lebreton, Henry S. Carson, Martin Thiel, Charles J.
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Impacts of Marine Debris on Biodiversity: Current Status and Potential Solutions.
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