The GPA is designed to be a source of conceptual and practical guidance to be drawn upon by national and/or regional authorities for devising and implementing sustained action to prevent, reduce, control and/or eliminate marine degradation from land-based activities. The GPA aims at preventing the degradation of the marine environment from land-based activities by facilitating the duty of States to preserve and protect the marine environment.

A. Identify and assess problems related to the: nature and severity of problems in relation to: food security and poverty alleviation; public health; coastal and marine resources and ecosystem health, including biological diversity; and economic and social benefits and uses, including cultural values.severity and impacts of contaminants including sewage, persistent organic pollutants, radioactive substances, heavy metals, oils, nutrients, sediment mobilization and litter.physical alteration, including habitat modification and destruction, in areas of concern.sources of degradation, including: coastal and upstream point sources; coastal and upstream non-point (diffuse) sources; and atmospheric deposition caused by transportation, power plants and industrial facilities, incinerators and agricultural operations.the affected or vulnerable areas of concern such as critical habitats, habitats of endangered species, ecosystem components, shorelines, coastal watersheds, estuaries, special protected marine and coastal areas, and small islands. B. Establish priorities for action by assessing the five factors above, reflecting the relative importance of impacts upon food security, public health, coastal and marine resources, ecosystem health, and socio-economic benefits, including cultural values in relation to (i) source- categories, (ii) the area affected and (iii) the costs, benefits and feasibility of options for action. I

UNEP