Virtual, 24 June 2025: ERIA’s Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris, in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), held the seventh Experts Working Group (EWG) on marine plastic debris in an online format. The meeting brought together regional experts and researchers to exchange progress updates, provide technical input to ongoing activities, discuss ongoing challenges, and strengthen cooperation in tackling plastic pollution across ASEAN+3.
In his opening remarks, Mr Reo Kawamura, Director of the Regional Knowledge Centre, highlighted its latest initiatives. These included the ASEAN Plastic Book Project, an upcoming research publication comprising policy recommendations aimed at supporting ASEAN Member States. He also introduced the establishment of a new capacity building team to reinforce ERIA’s regional support, and reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to sharing impactful knowledge and research outcomes.
Dr Atsushi Watabe, Programme Director of Sustainable Consumption and Production at IGES, followed with a message of appreciation for the region’s collective efforts. After acknowledging the contributions of participating experts, he expressed hope that the meeting would serve as a dynamic platform to reflect on achievements while generating constructive input for the way forward.
One of the key highlights of the meeting was the ASEAN Plastic Book Project (formally Plastic Pollution Countermeasures - For Effective Global Efforts with Case Studies of East Asia Region), a collaborative initiative involving researchers and experts from ASEAN+3 countries. Mr Kawamura provided an overview of the progress of each chapter and extended his appreciation to the EWG members who contributed valuable content and insights. Several experts also offered constructive feedback to further enrich the publication. Mr Kawamura expressed his hope that the handbook would make a significant impact and serve as a foundational resource for future initiatives beyond the ASEAN+3 region – marking not an end, but a meaningful step forward in the global fight against plastic pollution. The Plastic Book Project is expected to be finalised by December 2025.
Continuing the agenda, Mr Indradhi Faisal Ibrahim, Capacity Building Expert at ERIA, presented an overview of the Centre’s capacity building programmes, developed based on needs assessments and regional priorities. He highlighted three key initiatives:
CIRCONOMICS, which helps businesses in adopting circular economy practices;
DECIDE, which enhances evidence-based decision-making and plastic monitoring methods; and
INCLUSEA, a training programme that integrates informal-sector workers into plastic waste management systems while improving access to knowledge and health and safety awareness.
Experts acknowledged the relevance of these initiatives and underscored the importance of post-training evaluation to assess impact and effectiveness.
Further insights were shared by Dr Watabe, who introduced the ‘Breaking the Plastic Habit’ initiative, an ERIA–IGES project designed to shift consumer behaviour and reduce single-use plastics. Through this initiative, collaboration with various institutions was undertaken to test behavioural interventions, including reducing the use of plastic straws, encouraging consumers to bring their own food containers and reusable cups, and organising waste segregation contests. Beyond behavioural trials, the project also focused on strengthening local capacity and hosting public engagement events. These included workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), and the installation of supportive infrastructure such as water refill stations and new waste bins – all aimed at fostering sustainable habits in daily life.
The meeting also featured a joint presentation by Ms Ayako Mizuno, Programme Manager at ERIA, and Mr Dwayne Appleby, Programme Manager at IGES. They shared updates on the ongoing ERIA–IGES collaboration around behaviour change. Ms Mizuno presented the progress of the ‘Behavioural Lab’, a regional coalition launched in April 2025, which brings together five international partners working on behavioural change initiatives across the region. Key activities to date include the development of an inventory compiling each partner's past knowledge products, along with the drafting of a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding to formalise the partnership. Mr Appleby then highlighted the upcoming needs assessment study on behavioural change, which will begin with a government stakeholder survey across five ASEAN countries starting in July 2025. Some experts offered support in connecting the team with government counterparts, as well as offering suggestions on possible collaborative institutions in different ASEAN countries for the Behavioural Lab.
Rounding out the session, Dr Pham Ngoc Bao, Deputy Director of Adaptation & Water at IGES, delivered a compelling presentation on the region’s capacity and training needs related to microplastic research. His assessment revealed that Southeast Asia’s waters – particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, Viet Nam, and Thailand – are experiencing severe microplastic contamination. Explaining the journey of microplastics from their sources to human exposure, he noted that microplastics have been detected not only in marine species but also in drinking water, the human placenta, and even the brain tissue. The assessment identified major gaps in current efforts, including the lack of standardised approaches, insufficient technical capacity, and limited access to advanced research tools.
With the next EWG meeting scheduled for 25 to 26 September 2025 in Hanoi, Mr Kawamura closed the event by thanking participants and emphasising the importance of continued collaboration in combating marine plastic debris.
Research Associate
Virtual, 24 June 2025: ERIA’s Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris, in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), held the seventh Experts Working Group (EWG) on marine plastic debris in an online format. The meeting brought together regional experts and researchers to exchange progress updates, provide technical input to ongoing activities, discuss ongoing challenges, and strengthen cooperation in tackling plastic pollution across ASEAN+3.
In his opening remarks, Mr Reo Kawamura, Director of the Regional Knowledge Centre, highlighted its latest initiatives. These included the ASEAN Plastic Book Project, an upcoming research publication comprising policy recommendations aimed at supporting ASEAN Member States. He also introduced the establishment of a new capacity building team to reinforce ERIA’s regional support, and reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to sharing impactful knowledge and research outcomes.
Dr Atsushi Watabe, Programme Director of Sustainable Consumption and Production at IGES, followed with a message of appreciation for the region’s collective efforts. After acknowledging the contributions of participating experts, he expressed hope that the meeting would serve as a dynamic platform to reflect on achievements while generating constructive input for the way forward.
One of the key highlights of the meeting was the ASEAN Plastic Book Project (formally Plastic Pollution Countermeasures - For Effective Global Efforts with Case Studies of East Asia Region), a collaborative initiative involving researchers and experts from ASEAN+3 countries. Mr Kawamura provided an overview of the progress of each chapter and extended his appreciation to the EWG members who contributed valuable content and insights. Several experts also offered constructive feedback to further enrich the publication. Mr Kawamura expressed his hope that the handbook would make a significant impact and serve as a foundational resource for future initiatives beyond the ASEAN+3 region – marking not an end, but a meaningful step forward in the global fight against plastic pollution. The Plastic Book Project is expected to be finalised by December 2025.
Continuing the agenda, Mr Indradhi Faisal Ibrahim, Capacity Building Expert at ERIA, presented an overview of the Centre’s capacity building programmes, developed based on needs assessments and regional priorities. He highlighted three key initiatives:
CIRCONOMICS, which helps businesses in adopting circular economy practices;
DECIDE, which enhances evidence-based decision-making and plastic monitoring methods; and
INCLUSEA, a training programme that integrates informal-sector workers into plastic waste management systems while improving access to knowledge and health and safety awareness.
Experts acknowledged the relevance of these initiatives and underscored the importance of post-training evaluation to assess impact and effectiveness.
Further insights were shared by Dr Watabe, who introduced the ‘Breaking the Plastic Habit’ initiative, an ERIA–IGES project designed to shift consumer behaviour and reduce single-use plastics. Through this initiative, collaboration with various institutions was undertaken to test behavioural interventions, including reducing the use of plastic straws, encouraging consumers to bring their own food containers and reusable cups, and organising waste segregation contests. Beyond behavioural trials, the project also focused on strengthening local capacity and hosting public engagement events. These included workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), and the installation of supportive infrastructure such as water refill stations and new waste bins – all aimed at fostering sustainable habits in daily life.
The meeting also featured a joint presentation by Ms Ayako Mizuno, Programme Manager at ERIA, and Mr Dwayne Appleby, Programme Manager at IGES. They shared updates on the ongoing ERIA–IGES collaboration around behaviour change. Ms Mizuno presented the progress of the ‘Behavioural Lab’, a regional coalition launched in April 2025, which brings together five international partners working on behavioural change initiatives across the region. Key activities to date include the development of an inventory compiling each partner's past knowledge products, along with the drafting of a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding to formalise the partnership. Mr Appleby then highlighted the upcoming needs assessment study on behavioural change, which will begin with a government stakeholder survey across five ASEAN countries starting in July 2025. Some experts offered support in connecting the team with government counterparts, as well as offering suggestions on possible collaborative institutions in different ASEAN countries for the Behavioural Lab.
Rounding out the session, Dr Pham Ngoc Bao, Deputy Director of Adaptation & Water at IGES, delivered a compelling presentation on the region’s capacity and training needs related to microplastic research. His assessment revealed that Southeast Asia’s waters – particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, Viet Nam, and Thailand – are experiencing severe microplastic contamination. Explaining the journey of microplastics from their sources to human exposure, he noted that microplastics have been detected not only in marine species but also in drinking water, the human placenta, and even the brain tissue. The assessment identified major gaps in current efforts, including the lack of standardised approaches, insufficient technical capacity, and limited access to advanced research tools.
With the next EWG meeting scheduled for 25 to 26 September 2025 in Hanoi, Mr Kawamura closed the event by thanking participants and emphasising the importance of continued collaboration in combating marine plastic debris.
Research Associate
