UNEP Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML)

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Enriched UN / Multilateral · Found: 2026-03-11 11:10

Multi-stakeholder partnership bringing together actors to prevent marine litter and plastic pollution. Provides platform for cooperation, knowledge sharing, and identifying emerging issues. Ongoing partnership facilitating financing resources.

Source: https://unep.org/explore-topics/oceans-seas/global-partnership-plastic-pollution-and-marine-litter

Funding Details

Funder: UNEP – UN Environment Programme
Funding Goal: The Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) aims to prevent marine litter and plastic pollution globally by facilitating multi-stakeholder cooperation, knowledge exchange, and coordination among governments, civil society, NGOs, and the private sector. It supports the application of the 3Rs principle, closed-loop systems, and circular production cycles to minimize plastic leakage into the ocean.
Funding Amount: No direct funding provided — GPML is a membership partnership, not a grant program. It facilitates access to financing resources through network connections.
How to Apply: Any entity working to address marine litter and microplastics can become a member by registering at the Global Plastics Hub (globalplasticshub.org/partnership). No formal application deadline — membership is open on a rolling basis.
Target Region: Global
Contact: UNEP Secretariat for GPML. Contact via: https://unep.org/who-we-are/contact-us. Membership registration: https://globalplasticshub.org/partnership
Last Checked: 2026-03-11 16:22

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Your organization must work on marine litter, plastic pollution, or microplastics to be eligible for membership
Open to any entity type: NGOs, private sector, governments, research institutions, and regional bodies are all welcome

Project Scope

Focus must align with reducing plastic leakage to ocean, 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), or circular production systems
Program is global in scope — no geographic restriction on membership

Required Documents

Constraints

No direct funding available — GPML is a network platform, not a grant-making body; plan to use it for network access and visibility only
Quarterly newsletter and resource sharing are primary member benefits alongside network access

Summary

The UNEP Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) is a multi-stakeholder membership partnership launched at the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012. Led by a Steering Committee with UNEP as secretariat, it brings together hundreds of actors — including governments, civil society, NGOs, private sector, and regional bodies — to collectively address the global challenge of marine litter and plastic pollution. The GPML does not operate as a traditional grant or funding program. Instead, it provides an open global platform for cooperation and coordination, knowledge sharing, identification of emerging issues, and access to resources. Members benefit from a global network, opportunities to showcase their work, and access to capacity-building materials including a massive open online course on marine litter. GPML membership is open to any entity working on marine litter or microplastics. Key thematic objectives include reducing plastic leakage into oceans through improved product design, advancing the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), promoting closed-loop and circular production systems, and maximizing resource efficiency. The partnership supports SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and connects to broader UNEP environmental governance frameworks. While GPML itself does not directly disburse grants, it serves as a facilitation platform that can connect members to financing resources, coordination opportunities, and global expertise. For organizations working on plastic waste value chains or marine conservation, membership offers visibility and access to a global network, but does not provide direct financial support.

Historical Context

The GPML was launched at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012, in response to the Manila Declaration on Furthering the Implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities. It has operated as an ongoing partnership since then and was last updated on the UNEP website in October 2025.

Why it was added

UNEP/UN plastic pollution/CE program

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