The Integrated Marine Debris Observing System (IMDOS) aims to support the development of a global interoperable marine debris/litter monitoring system to benefit the research community, as well as policy- and decision-making bodies and the private sector.
By providing guidance on harmonizing data, standardizing monitoring methods, leveraging technology, and harnessing the power of a global community, IMDOS aims to support and strengthen a network of sustained observations to enhance marine debris research and to inform actions to tackle the growing global plastic pollution problem.
IMDOS will allow data from multiple sources to be interoperable, comparable, and accessible.
Global marine debris integrated monitoring is essential to provide reliable data to further our baseline knowledge of marine debris pollution on national, regional, and global levels, which is critical to establish and evaluate effective policies and mitigation plans.
Since 2019, we have been gradually moving IMDOS from an ambitious community vision to implementation. Formally launched during a dedicated side event during the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2022, IMDOS is a joint initiative of GOOS, GEO Blue Planet and UNEP GPML. Through this unique strategic partnership, IMDOS is well placed to fill to the void for a technical coordination body to support global marine litter monitoring.
IMDOS has an international Interim Steering Committee, its provisional Terms of Reference and a distributed Coordination and Communication Office with up to 5 staff members working partially.