ABOUT THE REGIONAL KNOWLEDGE CENTRE FOR MARINE PLASTIC DEBRIS (RKC-MPD)

RKC-MPD
Background
Our Experts

The Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris was established under Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in 2019 and serves as an information clearinghouse for marine plastic debris issues. The RKC-MPD has its mission to provide support to the ASEAN+3 Member States in addressing challenges associated with this emerging environmental concern.

Sharing knowledge and developing relevant capacity on marine plastic debris have been emphasized by the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other stakeholders as important ways to address the emerging challenges associated with marine plastic pollution in the region. In this context, the ASEAN+3 Summit (10 ASEAN Member States, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) held in Singapore in November 2018 welcomed the ASEAN+3 Marine Plastics Debris Cooperative Action Initiative which encouraged to make the best use of existing institutions such as Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to play meaningful roles on this front. Against this backdrop, and with the financial support of the Government of Japan, ERIA established in October 2019 the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (RKC-MPD), an information clearinghouse for marine plastic debris to serve the ASEAN+3 region.