Marine plastic pollution, and the damage it causes to our global ecosystem, have reached critical levels. There are already approximately 150 million tonnes of plastics circulating in the oceans and this is increasing by between 8 and 12 million tonnes per year. Asia is the epicenter of this pollution crisis. Solutions that can address marine pollution in this region are critical to protecting the marine environment from further damage, restoring the damage already inflicted, and securing long term and sustainable economic growth from the marine ecosystems.

Under the Technical Assistance contract in Promoting Actions on Plastic Pollution from Source to Sea in Southeast Asia and the Pacific —Prioritising and Implementing Actions to Reduce Marine Plastic Pollution (Subproject 2), DT Global will deliver practical activities to support the Asian Development Bank's in-country partners in delivering their commitments to reduce marine plastic pollution. These activities will result in the development of city-level Plastic Management Action Plans, local government capacity building to implement these Action plans, and support with policy and regulatory development.

DT Global, working closely with Seureca, will also undertake a study of the current use of digital technology in the management of plastic in each country. These findings will support the development and integration of high-level technology solutions into the management of plastic and the reduction of marine plastic pollution.

These activities will align with the Technical Assistance support to Asian Development Bank's developing member countries in developing and implementing the planned global treaty to curb plastic pollution.

As a result of this project, DT Global and Seureca will:

• Complete a baseline study, stakeholder engagement, and social survey to understand the current plastic manufacturer, value chain, and disposal practices in target cities.
• Develop circular plastics economy City Action Plans, policies and guidelines for Manila, Philippines; Cirebon, Indonesia; and Tan An, Vietnam.
• Design and implemented national Circular Plastic Packaging Forum and develop design guides for plastic packaging in Vietnam.
• Develop studies on economic instruments and recommendations for plastic packaging management systems and specification requirements, and market mechanisms for plastic waste for material recycling for Thailand.
• Design and implement a regional workshop on data monitoring for marine plastic litter.
• Design and implement a regional Circular Economy Finance Forum.
• Develop knowledge products on financing solutions to reduce marine plastic pollution in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.
• Study current use of digital technologies in the management of plastic; develop a digital roadmap for target countries, a data governance framework, and a plastic waste management open data platform; and pilot selected technologies for implementation.