Marine debris in Indonesia: A review of research and status

Abstract

With the status as the world's top contributor of marine plastic debris, Indonesia has committed to reduce marine plastic debris up to 70% in 2025 by establishing the National Action Plan (NAP) on Marine Debris. The high amount of marine plastic debris as a result of transport and accumulation become a complex issue in Indonesia due to its ocean-atmospheric circulation, high population of coastal communities, and marine activities. Based on our findings, there are gap of publications related to marine debris in Indonesia that had been already published. Marine debris is ubiquitous and transboundary, as they were found in marine environment and transported by currents to various direction including uninhabited islands, thus, we propose more comprehensive future research about the impact of marine debris on ecosystem (e.g. biological impact of organisms in the water column, ecological alteration in distribution pattern, and invasive species), human health, and economic loss.

Keywords: Indonesia; Macro-micro litter; Marine activities; Marine debris; National Action Plan; Transboundary trash.