11 June 2014: The Secretariat of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) International Environment Technology Centre (IETC) Global Partnership on Waste Management (GPWM) has released the tenth edition of its newsletter, spotlighting a recent initiative on marine litter.

The GPWM is an open-ended partnership of international organizations, governments, businesses and others, which aims to enhance international cooperation among stakeholders, and strengthen awareness, political will, and capacity to promote resource conservation and resource efficiency.

According to the newsletter, with the support of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA), a regional node of the Global Partnership for Marine Litter (GPML) is to be established and co-hosted by the Northwest Pacific Environmental Cooperation Centre (NPEC) and the Northwest Pacific Action Plan Regional Coordinating Unit. A dedicated website is planned to enable the sharing of information and reports on marine litter. The aim of the Northwest Pacific GPML regional node is to facilitate the further development of regional marine litter networks, convene regional events, provide information to the GPML Secretariat on regional priorities, and facilitate technical collaboration and coordination of marine litter activities.

The newsletter also features information on: a subregional e-waste academy that convened in El Salvador; waste and climate change activities under the Municipal Solid Waste Initiative of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC); and waste agricultural biomass activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Publication: June 2014 Newsletter] [GPWM Website] [IETC Website]