Harmonized monitoring and data compilation of marine plastic litter

Background
 Marine litter, including microplastics, is now a global challenge. In particular, pollution by plastic litter has been recognized as a serious international issue. Determining the current status of distribution and quantity is an urgent task. It is important for policy making and implementation to be based on concrete scientific knowledge. 
 At the G7 Elmau Summit in 2015, “supporting the initiation of a harmonized global marine litter monitoring effort and the standardization of methods, data and evaluation” was listed as one of the priority actions in the annex to the G7 2015 declarations. Subsequently, in November 2015, following the Elmau Summit, it was agreed that Japan would play a leading role in standardizing and harmonizing the monitoring methodologies for ocean microplastics. 
 Also, at the G20 Osaka Summit in 2019, marine plastic pollution was taken up as one of the priority issues, and the leaders endorsed the "G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter," which includes sharing scientific information and knowledge. In the first follow-up meeting and the G20 Workshop on Scientific Knowledge and Innovative Solutions for Marine Plastic Litter in 2019, it was identified that Japan (MOE Japan) voluntarily takes the lead in further elaborating key issues, such as harmonized monitoring and data compilation for the G20 Implementation Framework.
Based on the commitment, we have been working on harmonizing various monitoring methods and data on marine plastic litter.

◆Microplastics
　-Guidelines for Harmonizing Ocean Surface Microplastic Monitoring Methods
　-Data sharing and Database (AOMI)
◆Macroplastics
　-Guidelines for Harmonizing Marine Litter Monitoring Methods Using Remote Sensing Technology