Publications

As plastics are utilised in a broad range of sectors, there are various kinds of plastic pollution sources. A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report assessing marine litter and plastic pollution identified major land-based pollution sources to the ocean (UNEP, 2021). While landfills are regarded as one of the major sources, other...

In March 2022, during the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2), Resolution 5/14 was adopted, initiating efforts to develop an international legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution, including pollution of the marine environment. This resolution resulted in the formation of the Intergovernmental...

In recent years, plastic pollution has emerged as a growing threat around the globe. The gravity of this issue called for negotiations on an international legally binding instrument. As an area that is heavily influenced by and reliant on its marine resources, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region views plastic pollution as a...

Methane is a potent, short-lived climate pollutant responsible for nearly 0.5°C of global temperature rise. Though it remains in the atmosphere for about 12 years, its climate impact is 86 times stronger than carbon dioxide over 20 years, making methane mitigation one of the most effective strategies for tackling climate change. The waste sector...

Microplastics (MPs) (<5 mm) are hydrophobic and can't be easily degraded. These particles accumulate due to the excessive discharge of plastic waste from domestic and industrial sources, along with several toxic compounds attached to their surface, are also being deposited in environmental matrices, hampering the sustainable environment and human...

Salinity intrusion has become a critical threat to agricultural stability and water resource management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD), particularly in coastal regions. This study evaluates the efficacy of the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, a sophisticated deep learning (DL) architecture, for predicting salinity concentrations...

Quantitative monitoring of lake water storage in arid regions is essential for effective management of regional water resources, and can also elucidate the impacts of ecological degradation on lake water storage. This study investigates changes in water storage in Ebinur Lake, Xinjiang, from 2011 to 2024 using field–measured water depth data and...

Single-use plastic waste poses significant environmental challenges, particularly through microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a bio-carrier was fabricated from recycled single-use plastic waste, and its performance was evaluated in a laboratory-scale moving bed biofilm reactor combined with membrane filtration (MBBR-MBR)...

Changing the local reuse economy with behavioral science The Rent Your Cup initiative in Lao PDR, led by Econox with support from Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and Rare, addressed the growing problem of single-use plastic waste driven by expanding café culture and...

Using behavioral insights to increase reusable water bottle use Nopa Move’s Smart Bottle Network, with support from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and Rare, addressed single-use plastic waste in Ho Chi Minh City’s commuter coffee culture, where disposables...