IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v9y2025issue-9p6866-6901.html

Mapping Global Research Trends on Marine Plastic Pollution: A Bibliometric Analysis of Legal and Policy Frameworks

Author

Listed:
  • Nur Irinah Mohamad Sirat

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Nurul Mazrah Manshor

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Rohayati Hussin

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Salmah Roslim

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Syatirah Abu Bakar

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Siti Khadijah Abdullah Sanek

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Mohd Zulhelmey Abdullah

    (Faculty of Law, UiTM Cawangan Kedah, Kampus Sungai Petani, 08400 Merbok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia)

  • Nur Zatil Sakinah Mohamad Sirat

    (Messrs Wang & S.B. Wong, Penang, Malaysia)

Abstract

Marine plastic pollution (MPP) stands as one of the significant environmental challenges of the twenty-first century, shaping debates on sustainability, biodiversity protection, and climate change resilience. Although scientific research on plastics has expanded rapidly, comparatively less attention has been devoted to the intellectual and thematic evolution of legal and policy-oriented research in this field. To address this gap, this bibliometric study systematically examines the intellectual, thematic, and structural development of MPP scholarship, specifically focusing on legal and policy frameworks between 2015 and 2025. Drawing on 406 publications retrieved from the Scopus database, the study pursues four objectives: (1) to analyse the intellectual and thematic evolution of MPP research addressing legal and policy dimensions over the past decade; (2) to identify key contributors and collaboration patterns; (3) to explore dominant thematic trends and emerging conceptual structures through keyword co-occurrence and network mapping techniques; and (4) to highlight persisting research gaps. Using bibliometric tools, including Harzing’s Publish or Perish, OpenRefine, and VOSviewer, the analysis reveals a marked increase in scholarly output, peaking in 2023–2024. The findings outline a three-phase trajectory: an emergent stage (2015–2017), a consolidation phase (2018–2021), and an acceleration phase (2022–2025), aligned with global policy milestones such as the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive and the UNEA resolution on a global plastics treaty. With growing participation from Southeast Asia, authors and institutions from China, the United States, India, and Europe make influential contributions. Thematic clusters highlight ecological risks, waste management, governance frameworks, and emerging linkages with sustainability and climate change. Nonetheless, significant gaps persist, particularly in aligning legal frameworks with climate commitments and strengthening enforcement in developing regions. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive mapping of MPP governance scholarship, offering valuable insights for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to advance marine sustainability and climate resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Nur Irinah Mohamad Sirat & Nurul Mazrah Manshor & Rohayati Hussin & Salmah Roslim & Syatirah Abu Bakar & Siti Khadijah Abdullah Sanek & Mohd Zulhelmey Abdullah & Nur Zatil Sakinah Mohamad Sirat, 2025. "Mapping Global Research Trends on Marine Plastic Pollution: A Bibliometric Analysis of Legal and Policy Frameworks," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(9), pages 6866-6901, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:issue-9:p:6866-6901
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-9-issue-9/6866-6901.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/mapping-global-research-trends-on-marine-plastic-pollution-a-bibliometric-analysis-of-legal-and-policy-frameworks/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiajia Zheng & Sangwon Suh, 2019. "Strategies to reduce the global carbon footprint of plastics," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(5), pages 374-378, May.
    2. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    3. Aria, Massimo & Cuccurullo, Corrado, 2017. "bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 959-975.
    4. Samuel Abalansa & Badr El Mahrad & Godwin Kofi Vondolia & John Icely & Alice Newton, 2020. "The Marine Plastic Litter Issue: A Social-Economic Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-27, October.
    5. M. M. Kessler, 1963. "Bibliographic coupling between scientific papers," American Documentation, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 10-25, January.
    6. Leo Egghe, 2006. "Theory and practise of the g-index," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 69(1), pages 131-152, October.
    7. Philippe Mongeon & Adèle Paul-Hus, 2016. "The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: a comparative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(1), pages 213-228, January.
    8. Joana C. Prata & Ana L. Patrício Silva & João P. da Costa & Catherine Mouneyrac & Tony R. Walker & Armando C. Duarte & Teresa Rocha-Santos, 2019. "Solutions and Integrated Strategies for the Control and Mitigation of Plastic and Microplastic Pollution," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Hualin Xie & Yanwei Zhang & Zhilong Wu & Tiangui Lv, 2020. "A Bibliometric Analysis on Land Degradation: Current Status, Development, and Future Directions," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, January.
    10. Zvanaka S. Mazhandu & Edison Muzenda & Tirivaviri A. Mamvura & Mohamed Belaid & Trust Nhubu, 2020. "Integrated and Consolidated Review of Plastic Waste Management and Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastics: Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-57, October.
    11. Henry Small, 1973. "Co‐citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 24(4), pages 265-269, July.
    12. Nees Jan Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2010. "Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 523-538, August.
    13. Amy L. Brooks & Vilma Havas, 2025. "Strengthening global plastic policy with systems analysis," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 8(6), pages 714-723, June.
    14. Jiajia Zheng & Sangwon Suh, 2019. "Publisher Correction: Strategies to reduce the global carbon footprint of plastics," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(7), pages 567-567, July.
    15. Diana Barrowclough & Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, 2022. "Transforming the Global Plastics Economy: The Role of Economic Policies in the Global Governance of Plastic Pollution," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, January.
    16. Waltman, Ludo, 2016. "A review of the literature on citation impact indicators," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 365-391.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yao, Ye & Du, Huibin & Zou, Hongyang & Zhou, Peng & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler & Neumann, Anne & Yeh, Sonia, 2023. "Fifty years of Energy Policy: A bibliometric overview," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    2. Adriana Ana Maria Davidescu & Margareta-Stela Florescu & Liviu Cosmin Mosora & Mihaela Hrisanta Mosora & Eduard Mihai Manta, 2022. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Publications of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in Time of Pandemics: Implications for Teachers’ Professional Publishing Activity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-36, July.
    3. Qian Wang & Shixian Luo & Jiao Zhang & Katsunori Furuya, 2022. "Increased Attention to Smart Development in Rural Areas: A Scientometric Analysis of Smart Village Research," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-28, August.
    4. Martha Flores-Sosa & José M. Merigó & Kenia Sanchez-Valenzuela, 2025. "30 years of the Journal of Heuristics: a bibliometric analysis," Journal of Heuristics, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 1-55, March.
    5. Saurav Chandra Talukder & Zoltán Lakner, 2023. "Exploring the Landscape of Social Entrepreneurship and Crowdfunding: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Hussain, Walayat & Merigó, José M. & Rahimi, Iman & Lev, Benjamin, 2025. "Half a century of Omega – The International Journal of Management Science: A bibliometric analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    7. Tejaswi Patil & Zillur Rahman, 2023. "Mapping the Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) field: document co-citation and bibliographic coupling approach," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 20(2), pages 491-520, June.
    8. Khare, Apoorv & Jain, Rajesh, 2022. "Mapping the conceptual and intellectual structure of the consumer vulnerability field: A bibliometric analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 567-584.
    9. Toshiyuki Hasumi & Mei-Shiu Chiu, 2022. "Online mathematics education as bio-eco-techno process: bibliometric analysis using co-authorship and bibliographic coupling," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 4631-4654, August.
    10. Luciano Barcellos-Paula & José M. Merigó & Anna M. Gil-Lafuente, 2024. "100 volumes of Mathematical Methods of Operations Research: a bibliometric overview," Mathematical Methods of Operations Research, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research (GOR);Nederlands Genootschap voor Besliskunde (NGB), vol. 100(3), pages 753-796, December.
    11. Huichen Gao & Shijuan Wang, 2022. "The Intellectual Structure of Research on Rural-to-Urban Migrants: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-19, August.
    12. Ahmet Ayaz, 2026. "The 500 Most-Cited Articles in Management Information Systems: A Bibliometric and Thematic Approach," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 317-340, February.
    13. Ahmad Alaassar & Anne-Laure Mention & Kateryna Kryzhanivska, 2026. "Digital innovation: a bibliometric review and research agenda," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 331-377, January.
    14. S. S. Rajkishan & A. Jiran Meitei & Abha Singh, 2024. "Role of AI/ML in the study of mental health problems of the students: a bibliometric study," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 15(5), pages 1615-1637, May.
    15. Bo Liu & Wei Song & Qian Sun, 2022. "Status, Trend, and Prospect of Global Farmland Abandonment Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-30, November.
    16. Muhammad Khalid Shahid & Aye Aye Khin & Lim Chee Seong & Muhammad Shahbaz & Fiaz Ahmad, 2024. "Mapping the Relationship of Research and Development Expenditures and Economic Growth through Bibliometric Analysis: A Theoretical Perspective," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 17529-17555, December.
    17. Yiming Xiao & Han Wu & Guohua Wang & Hong Mei, 2021. "Mapping the Worldwide Trends on Energy Poverty Research: A Bibliometric Analysis (1999–2019)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-22, February.
    18. Cinzia Colapinto & Issam Mejri, 2025. "The relevance of goal programming for financial portfolio management: a bibliometric and systematic literature review," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 346(2), pages 917-943, March.
    19. Ashraf, Rohail & Khan, Muhammad Asif & Khuhro, Rafique Ahmed & Bhatti, Zeeshan Ahmed, 2022. "Knowledge creation dynamics of technological forecasting and social change special issues," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    20. Samik Shome & Sushma Verma, 2025. "Zombie firms: a systematic review and future research directions," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 2309-2368, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:issue-9:p:6866-6901. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.