Harmonized monitoring and data compilation of marine plastic litter

Back ground
 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.

【Back ground and Process】
 In response to the growing interest surrounding microplastics in the ocean, microplastic monitoring carried out by many institutions around the world using various methods. It is expected that monitoring will continue, but as different sampling and analytical methods are used - depending on the purpose of the surveys of each country and research institution - there is a fundamental lack of comparability among currently available data.
 To remedy the situation, the MOEJ published the first version of the "Guidelines for Harmonizing Ocean Surface Microplastic Monitoring Methods" in May 2019, based on the comparison study of sampling and analysis methods through the demonstration projects and discussions at an international expert meeting consists of domestic and international experts. The MOEJ also updated the guidelines in 2020, and is promoting harmonization of the monitoring methods through the guideline.
   Research vessels were commonly used in conventional monitoring projects, but it was difficult to disseminate monitoring broadly because of the limited numbers of the vessels and its cost. In addition, in areas where there are many floating materials such as fish eggs and plankton, nets tend to become clogged. Based on these problems, the MOEJ revised the guidelines so that the guidelines can be applied to small boats and areas where there are many floating materials in 2020. 
 Also, the second revision, such as rivising the definition of maximum in “Feret diameter*” and clarifying the minimum requirement of data items, was made in 2023, in order to accelerate further accumulation of monitoring data. The MOEJ will continue to lead harmonizing global data which is the basis for combating plastic pollution.

• Outline of Guidelines for Harmonizing Ocean Surface Microplastic Monitoring Methods
• Guidelines for Harmonizing Ocean Surface Microplastic Monitoring Methods (ver 1.2)
• Seining method in the Guidelines
• List of items to be confirmed during monitoring

• G7 Summit 2015 in Schloss Elmau
• G20 Workshop on harmonized monitoring and data compilation of marine plastic litter (September 2020)

​

 By applying the guidelines, comparability of monitoring data on ocean surface microplastics can be improved, but monitoring data from around the world has not yet been compiled in a comparable manner. Therefore, Japan proposed a new global monitoring data sharing system at the G20 Workshop held by the MOEJ in September 2020.
 In addition, the MOEJ hosted International Workshop on Marine Debris Data Harmonization in August 2023 to enhance the level of data, including associated metadata identification to support global data harmonization for selected key marine debris indicators that will underpin the successful mitigation of plastic pollution.

  The MOEJ has developed a marine plastic litter mapping database “Atlas of Ocean Microplastics (AOMI)” based on expert opinions in International Expert Meeting on Marine Plastic Litter Monitoring Data Sharing Project.

Atlas of Ocean Microplastics (AOMI) (external link)

 The MOEJ is collecting monitoring data on ocean surface microplastics from researchers, institutions and governments around the world and developing a database system which can provide the collected data with 2D maps of sampling locations and distributions of particle density. The data is registered in the database system in accordance with Guidelines for Harmonizing Ocean Surface Microplastic Monitoring Methods.
 Promoting data sharing through this database system can contribute to development of monitoring networks around the world and improvement of data value. Also, this database system is expected to contribute to policy makers, researchers and citizens by providing easy-to-understand 2D maps.

 This database system will collect monitoring data from monitoring conductor, such as researchers and institutions, around the world and accept data submission. In data submission, the following “Data Entry Form Sheet & Data List Sheet” which was developed based on the guidelines can be utilized. (How to input data is contained in the sheet.)
 If you have any questions regarding to how to download and provide data, please contact the email address below.
 Email: aomi-contact#env.go.jp
 *When sending an email, please change "#" to "@" in the address

 The Ministry of the Environment, Japan, convened online the international workshop “AOMI Database Workshop: Enhancing Ocean Microplastics Monitoring” on October 8, 2024 , to improve recognition of the Atlas of Ocean Microplastics (AOMI) which was released in May, and to facilitate understanding of the importance of accumulating and utilizing monitoring data on marine plastic litter.
 This workshop featured related initiatives, such as the UNEP Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML), detailing their current activities and tools. Additionally, a panel discussion addressed the current situation and challenges in ocean surface plastic monitoring. Finally, in the later session, we introduced specific functions and data submission processes in AOMI.
 Detail information and the materials are available from the link below.
AOMI Database Workshop: Enhancing Ocean Microplastics Monitoring

• Data Entry Form Sheet & Data List Sheet(V03.08) 

• G20 Workshop on harmonized monitoring and data compilation of marine plastic litter (September 2020)
• International Workshop on Marine Debris Data Harmonization (August 2023)
• Press Release: Release of the marine plastic litter mapping database “Atlas of Ocean Microplastics (AOMI)” (May 2024)