2025 SEA of Solutions: MA-RE-DESIGN team from GIZ, UNEP COBSEA and WWF

On 16 & 17 December, the Marine Litter Prevention through Reduction, Sustainable Design and Recycling of Plastic Packaging (MA-RE-DESIGN) project, implemented by GIZ, joined a regional dialogue platform to address marine litter at the ‘2025 SEA of Solutions Forum’. The forum was organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (UNEP COBSEA), and held at Le Méridien Bangkok Hotel. The event brought together over 150 participants, including policymakers and representatives from government, the private sector, academia and civil society across the East Asia and Pacific region.

Marlene Nilsson, Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) gives welcoming speech

At the opening ceremony on 16 December, welcoming remarks were delivered by Marlene Nilsson, Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The opening remarks were given by Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution; Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions; Dr Pinsak Suraswadi, Director General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Thailand; Her Excellency Anna Hammargren, Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand; and Rasio Ridho Sani, Deputy Minister for Environmental Pollution and Degradation Control, Ministry of Environment, Indonesia. All honourable speakers emphasised the urgency of dealing with plastic pollution and the necessity of cross-sectoral collaboration to drive systematic solutions.

(Left) Jyoti Mathur-Filipp Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution gives opening remarks
(Middle) Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Conventions), gives opening remarks
(Right) Dr Pinsak Suraswadi, Director General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), gives opening remarks

(Left) Rasio Ridho Sani, Deputy Minister, Environmental Pollution and Degradation Control Ministry of Environment, Indonesia gives opening remarks
(Right) Anna Hammargren, Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand gives opening remarks

Markus Rimmele, Political Counsellor at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany gives special remarks

These perspectives align with the statement by Markus Rimmele, Political Counsellor at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, who noted: “Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. We know that effective solutions already exist – namely, the transition towards a circular economy. The Federal Republic of Germany is fully committed to supporting this global transition.” This reflects the strong, collective commitment of multiple stakeholders to tackling plastic pollution.

The 2025 SEA of Solutions Forum was organised under the theme ‘Partnerships and Solutions for Plastic Pollution’, aiming to promote knowledge exchange, innovation and collaboration to sustainably address marine litter through thematic sessions and partnership dialogues. On 17 December, the MA-RE-DESIGN project hosted a session entitled ‘Think Green, Play Greener: Eco-design Inspirations & the Carbon Footprint Game’. The session featured a young innovator and a start-up who won the Eco-design Sparking Innovation Award 2025 – organised by GIZ, together with a representative from Qualy, a leader in eco-friendly design and production. Key speakers shared experiences in sustainable packaging design and joined a hands-on learning activity using a card game designed to communicate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) concepts and greenhouse gas emissions in a simple and engaging way.

One of the objectives under the MA-RE-DESIGN project is to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), start-ups, young innovators and packaging designers in understanding sustainable packaging design principles and applying them in practice. The project has initiated the development of educational curricula on sustainable packaging, focusing on lifecycle thinking and greenhouse gas reduction for schools and universities, with activities scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

Addressing plastic pollution is a global priority, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, which faces significant challenges from plastic production, consumption and spillage into the environment. Sustainable solutions require the integration of circular economy principles throughout the value chain from design and production to transport, use and end-of-life management, alongside concrete collaboration among all stakeholders from local to regional levels.