申論題內容
9. Marine debris, including plastics and microplastics (MDPMs), is considered "a global concern
affecting all the oceans of the world". It has been observed everywhere: from coastal areas to remote
areas far from any anthropogenic pollution sources; from surface waters throughout the water column
to the deep water and ocean sediments; and from the equator to the poles, including trapped in sea ice.
In the intervening years, however, marine debris has not only increased exponentially, but also become
characterized by the growing presence -- and now prevalence -- of non-organic and non-
biodegradable components, in particular plastics. An estimated minimum of 5.25 trillion plastic
particles weighing 268,940 tons are currently floating in the world's oceans. These figures do not
include plastics accumulating on beaches or the sea floor, trapped in sea ice or ingested by organisms,
all of which may partly explain the tremendous loss of microplastics observed from the sea surface
compared with expected rates of fragmentation (UN General Assembly, A/71/74, page 3).(20分).