State of the marine environment in the South Asian Seas Region: UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 123

This document assesses the state of the marine environment in the South Asian Seas, covering India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and adjoining waters. It synthesizes literature, monitoring data, and task-team inputs to describe oceanography, contaminant levels, transport pathways, and data quality control. It details human pressures—sewage and industrial effluents, pesticides and metals, oil shipping, dredging and mining, coastal development, and altered river flows—and links them to biological effects such as eutrophication, habitat loss, and public-health risks. It reviews controls, trends, and economic implications, and provides country summaries that highlight gaps in monitoring and priorities for prevention and recovery efforts.