The major goal of this overview is to present recent information on the river and direct inputs of chemical substances to the coastal sea within NOWPAP region and to estimate possible trends during the last decade. This goal is closely connected with analysis of existing monitoring schemes and methods used in the NOWPAP countries. Comparison of the monitoring schemes and methods, including the environmental standards and norms is the second major goal of this project. The overview is based on the compilation of National Inputs prepared by the nominated experts from all NOWPAP countries along with analysis of the previous NOWPAP POMRAC Regional overviews on river and direct inputs (POMRAC Technical Report # 4, #7).