**5. An emerging threat and regional activities on LMP control**

Generally, a regional approach is based on the mechanisms of interest, traditions, and values of neighboring countries [54] under common interests or problems. It also depends on political, social, economic, and cultural cooperation and interaction [54]. Marine environment pollution in the Bay of Bengal sub-region is a common problem because every year, this Bay receives many pollutants from land-based and other activities [55]. These pollutants reach the marine and coastal waters through rivers, canal systems, or the atmosphere [55]. For example, it is estimated that in Delhi, 5 million gallons of water containing DDT wastes are dumped into the Jamuna river daily, which ultimately falls through the Bay of Bengal. The South Asian Seas Action Plan, Colombo Workshop on LMP Control, and Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) program are vital regional approaches for researching marine environmental Protection from pollution directly or indirectly in this region.

South Asian Seas Action Plan (SASAP) South Asia is one of the most diverse regions in the world. They are bordered to the north by the Himalayas and to the south by the Indian Ocean. Many countries have taken action to protect and manage the environment. They are also parties to many multilateral environmental agreements requiring them to work cooperatively to mitigate concern issues. The South Asian Seas Action Plan (SASAP) is a Regional Action Plan (RSP) under the UNEP Regional Seas Program (RSP) adopted in 1995. The Regional Seas Programs of UNEP have several common elements. Establishing a Regional Seas Program usually begins with developing an action plan outlining the strategy and substance of a regionally coordinated program to protect a typical body of water. The action plan is based on the region's environmental challenges and socio-economic and political situation. It may cover issues ranging from chemical wastes and coastal development to marine species and ecosystem conservation.

In most cases, the action plan is underpinned by a solid legal framework in a regional convention and associated protocols on specific problems. The legally binding convention expresses governments' commitment and political will to tackle common environmental problems through joint, coordinated activities. The South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP) has been privileged to participate in developing the RSP in the SASAP.

The overall objective of the SASAP is to protect and manage the region's marine environment and related coastal ecosystems in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. In addition to specifying the needs under the main components of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Management, Environmental Legislation & Institutional, and Financial Arrangements, the Action Plan identified the areas where priority activities need to develop for implementation. The action plan is designed to develop financial and institutional mechanisms for protecting marine and coastal environments from different activities, including LMP control. The Plan focuses on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), oil-spill contingency planning, human resource development, and land-based activities' environmental effects. For LMP control, they suggest a regional action plan for reducing nutrient

loading into the coastal waters of the South Asian Seas Region. The key activities of the action plan included Inventory of point or non-point sources of nutrients that end up in the coastal waters, developing and undertaking actions to reduce nutrient inputs to agriculture, and developing a regional action plan to pursue by member countries [56]. Although there is no regional convention, SASAP follows existing global environmental and maritime conventions and considers the Law of the Sea's umbrella convention.
