The Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter (RAPMaLi) for the Wider Caribbean Region was originally developed in 2007 to promote problem solving at the national and local levels, recognizing that unique regional characteristics should inform innovative solutions to the problem of marine litter. The RAPMaLi action plan has since been implemented through selected pilot projects in Guyana, Barbados and Saint Lucia.

The implementation of RAPMaLi is supported by the adoption of several international agreements with implications for the Wider Caribbean Region, including the Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol) of the Cartagena Convention. The LBS Protocol helps UN Member States in the Wider Caribbean Region to meet the obligations and requirements of UNCLOS and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA). The Protocol includes regional effluent limitations for domestic wastewater (sewage) and requires the development of plans to address agricultural non-point sources of pollution. Specific schedules for implementation are also included in the Protocol. In addition the LBS Protocol allows countries to develop and adopt future annexes to address other priority sources of land-based pollution such as marine plastic.

The operative Annexes describe the work that each Party must accomplish, and provides guidance for the development of regional actions. In particular:

• Annex I establishes a list of land-based sources and activities and their associated contaminants of greatest concern to the marine environment;
• Annex II outlines and establishes the process for developing regional standards and practices for the prevention, reduction, and control of the sources and activities identified in Annex I.
• Annex III establishes specific regional effluent limitations for domestic sewage; and
• Annex IV requires each Contracting Party to develop plans, programmes and other measures for the prevention, reduction and control of agricultural non-point sources of pollution.

The implementation of the Protocol and the development of future source-specific annexes will be determined by the States with assistance from a Scientific, Technical and Advisory Committee.

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In addition, one of the outcomes of the XXII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean in February 2021 was a pollution and waste agenda. Ministers highlighted the need to urgently address the issue of marine litter and microplastics and adopted a new Action Plan on regional cooperation for the management of chemicals and waste 2021–2024.