The Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol) is a regional mechanism assisting the United Nations Member States in the Wider Caribbean Region to meet the goals and obligations of two international agreements: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Global Plan of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA). UNCLOS calls upon States to adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from land-based sources. The GPA highlights the need for action to reduce the pollutant load to the seas from land-based sources and activities. Both of these instruments emphasise the need to act at the regional level to address this problem. The LBS Protocol was adopted on October 6, 1999 in Oranjestad, Aruba and entered into force on August 13, 2010.