Technical Cooperation on Marine Debris and Microplastic Monitoring and Research

     This cooperation between the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand, and the First Institute of Oceanography (FIO), State Oceanic Administration (SOA) in the People's Republic of China was established in 2017. It was originally a sub-project under the Tropical Marine Ecosystem Collaborative Study, with the objectives of jointly developing standard procedures for sampling and sample analysis in the laboratories in the regional level and investigating types, quantities, and distribution of microplastics in sediments and water column along with the impacts on marine ecosystems. The partnership is expected to contribute to the further development of a marine debris and microplastics management plan.

     Subsequently, the project was elevated to a flagship research initiative with the endorsement of the Thailand–China Joint Committee on Marine Cooperation at its 8th meeting on 21 May 2025.

Objective

• To study the distribution of microplastics in offshore marine areas, providing complementary data to the existing nearshore monitoring program, which is the primary responsibility of DMCR.
• To investigate microplastic contamination in marine organisms, focusing on key ecological species (flagship species) and economically important species consumed by humans.
• To conduct a pilot study on hazardous contaminants associated with microplastics in marine organism tissues and the environment.
• To strengthen the capacity of researchers in marine debris and microplastic monitoring.

Expected benefits

• Development of a comprehensive database on marine debris and microplastics in offshore areas of Thailand, integrated with the existing “Marine Microplastic Data Integration System” from FIO and “Marine Debris database” by the DMCR
• Establishment of a scientifically robust national baseline on microplastic accumulation in marine organisms across key regions of Thailand, enabling comparison with international datasets and global studies
• Thailand ECOP can gain capability and understanding in microplastic research from the Training program
• Strengthen Thai-China collaboration and expand engagement under the UN Decade of Ocean Science programs