The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities is the only intergovernmental programme that addresses the inter-linkages between freshwater and the coastal environment.

Global Partnership on Nutrient Management

The major threats to the health, productivity and biodiversity of the marine environment result from human activities on land - in coastal areas and further inland. Some 80% of the pollution load in the oceans originates from land-based activities. This includes municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes and run-off, as well as atmospheric deposition. These contaminants affect the most productive areas of the marine environment, including estuaries and near-shore coastal waters. The marine environment is also threatened by physical alterations of the coastal zone, including destruction of habitats of vital importance to maintain ecosystem health.

Presently, about one billion people are living in coastal urban centers. Estimates show that almost 50 % of the world's coasts are threatened by development-related activities. The health, well-being and, in some cases, the very survival of coastal populations depends upon the health and well-being of coastal systems such as estuaries and wetlands. The intense pressures put on the coastal systems requires serious commitment and preventive action at all levels: local, national, regional and global.
 
In response to these major problems, 108 governments and the European Commission declared their commitment to protect and preserve the marine environment from the adverse environmental impacts of land-based activities. The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities and the Washington Declaration were adopted in 1995 and UNEP was tasked to lead the coordination effort and to establish a GPA Coordination Office. The comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach of the GPA also reflects the desire of Governments to strengthen the collaboration and coordination of all agencies with mandates relevant to the impact of land-based activities on the marine environment, through their participation in a global programme.