Strategic Roadmap for Addressing Microplastic Pollution in the Global South: Bridging Monitoring Gaps, Harmonizing Methods, and Building Analytical Capacity

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) pollution represents a growing environmental challenge, especially in tropical and subtropical coastal regions of the Global South, where methodological fragmentation, funding discontinuity, and dependence on external analytical infrastructure limit the production of comparable data and the formulation of evidence-based public policies. In this critical review we propose, we propose a strategic roadmap structured around five complementary pillars: (1) implementation of continuous and standardized monitoring programs; (2) methodological harmonization adapted to regional ecological and institutional realities; (3) priority assessment of ecological impacts on sensitive coastal ecosystems; (4) improved understanding of dispersal sources and processes through integrated source-sink approaches; and (5) strengthening scientific and institutional capacity, reducing dependence on international laboratories. The framework articulates scientific production, regulatory instruments, territorialized funding strategies, and reconfiguration of international cooperation, focusing on technical symmetry and capacity transfer. By integrating technical, institutional, and financial dimensions into a scalable and adaptable model, we offer an operational pathway to territorialize global commitments, including the Global Plastics Treaty, and consolidate analytical autonomy and sustainable governance of plastics in the Global South.