MARine Pollution in the Arctic: origin, status, costs and incentives for Prevention (“MARP3”)


Plastic waste is an emergent pollutant in the Arctic affecting marine and coastal ecosystems and associated ecosystem services. The high level of marine debris found in the region indicate that there is a clear need to increase awareness of how pollutants affect ecosystems, societies and industry, and to identify preventive measures that can contribute to more sustainable development in the Arctic regions.

Click here to read an article about the project (in Norwegian only).

Siste sang for hvalen? The last song of the whales?

This project will deliver research on marine waste relevant to enhance the knowledge base needed for more sustainable resource and environmental management in the Arctic. In order to understand the multiple impacts and identify management measures that can reduce marine pollution, an inter-disciplinary team of specialists from law, economics, and science from academic and research institutes in Norway, Russia and the UK will work together in close dialogue with managers, NGOs, regulators and relevant industry figures. The project will apply and develop methods and tools needed for a holistic approach to management and thereby contribute to the international efforts on operationalising an ecosystem-based approach to management.  

MARP3 is organised into four work packages:

WP 1: Marine debris status, sources and impacts on ecosystems.

WP 2: Socio-economic cost of marine debris in the Arctic.

WP 3: Regulations and incentives governing marine debris in the Arctic.

WP 4: Communication and recommendations to prevent marine waste in the Arctic.

To secure the wider relevance of the project, a workshop with industry operating in the area, relevant policymakers and scientists will be organised in the final year of the project, to communicate research findings and further develop a set of recommendations that can contribute to achieving the environmental quality objectives for marine waste in the Arctic.

For more information about the project contact Ingvild Jakobsen at the Centre. Further information can also be found on the NORUT website.



Financial/grant information:

The project is financed by the Division for Energy, Resources and the Environment at The Research Council of Norway.