Transcript IMO AND ITS ROLE IN MARINE ENVIRONMENT

IMO’s Support to Maritime and
Ports Authorities in Management
of Initiatives of Protection of
Marine Environment in the
PMAESA Region
Presented By: Mr. John Paul Muindi
IMO Regional Co-ordinator
Eastern and Southern Africa
(E&SA)
WHAT IS IMO ?
IMO – the International Maritime
Organization
IMO: safe,
secure and
efficient
shipping
on clean
oceans
The International Maritime
Organization
(IMO) is
the specialized
agency of the United
Nations with
the responsibility
for safety and security at sea
and the
prevention of marine
pollution from ships.
Established by means of
a convention
Adopted in 1948,
IMO
first met in
1959 and is the only United
Nations agency
With its headquarters in
London.
Over the years IMO has adopted
some 40 Conventions and
Protocols and numerous Codes
and recommendations
relating to safety, pollution
prevention,security
measures, liability and
compensation issues and
Facilitation of international
maritime traffic.
IMO is a technical organization
and most of its work
is carried out in a number
of committees
and sub-committees
overseen
by the council
and assembly.
All the committees and
sub-committees of
IMO are open to
participation by all
Members Governments on an
equal basis.
IMO Support to Maritime and Ports
Authorities
 IMO has been collaborating with PMAESA since
1992
 Collaboration initiated when the Strategy and
action plan for the Protection of Marine
Environment of the Eastern and Southern Africa
(SPMEESA) was developed.
 The strategy was developed following a needs
assessment for marine environment protection in
the Coastal States of E&SA
 SPMEESA was adopted by the 18th Council
meeting of PMAESA in 1992 and reviewed in
2002
Rationale for the Strategy and Action
Plan
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The basis for the strategy and the action plan is:
– combination of a regional sea which is a
fragile ecosystem in need of protection, on
one hand, and the powerful intervention of
man’s activities through shipping traffic and
oil and gas exploration, on the other hand,
which pose some risk to that ecosystem.
– Oil pollution which remains an ever-present
threat to the marine environment of the E
&SA region
Rationale for the Strategy and Action
Plan
 It focuses on:
– The development of national systems for pollution
preparedness and response;
– The enhancement of regional co-operation especially
through the development of a regional framework for
co-operation;
– The prevention of marine pollution from dumping at
sea; and
– The effective and global implementation of the global
maritime safety and marine environment protection
related global conventions
Goal of the SPMEESA
 The overall goal of the regional strategy is
to maintain, protect and enhance the quality
of the marine environment of the Eastern
and Southern Africa Region
Objectives of the SPMEESA
 Operational discharges from shipping activities
within the region are minimized, if not eliminated
and are regulated by the appropriate international
conventions (MARPOL 73/78) and the Jeddah and
Nairobi Conventions and their related protocols).
 All countries and territories of the region develop
and practice effective marine Pollution emergency
response plans and capabilities in accordance with
the Requirement of the OPRC 1990 and the
OPRC-HNS Protocol, 2000.
Objectives of the SPMEESA
 Marine pollution from dumping at sea is prevented
mainly through the Implementation of the
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution
by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (LC),
1972 as amended (LC1992)
 The provisions of other relevant instruments are
implemented, including the set of regulations
covering inland waterways vessels and nonconvention craft, including fishing vessels
operating in Africa.
Strategy Elements for the
SPMEESA
Following programme elements were
identified as of highest priority when the
strategy was developed.
1. Prevention of Pollution from
Shipping Activities-Implementation of
MARPOL 73/78
 the main international convention covering
prevention of pollution of the marine
environment by ships from operational or
accidental causes. It is a combination of two
treaties adopted in 1973 and 1978
respectively and updated by amendments
through the years.
2. Port State Control
 Port State Control is a major tool in the prevention
of pollution of the marine environment and in
preventing marine accidents.
 IMO and PMAESA have continued to support the
national maritime administrations in their Port
State Control programmes and the training of their
surveyors and inspectors.
 There are seven regional memorandum’s on Port
State Control throughout the world and the Indian
Ocean Memorandum on Port State Control
(IOMOU) is the relevant one applicable to E&SA.
However, some countries such as South Africa,
Angola and Namibia also belong to the Abuja
MoU.
3. Marine Pollution Preparedness
and Response

This element attempts to demonstrate the singular
characteristics of the E &SA marine environment and
the threat to which it is exposed from international
shipping, especially large tankers, and the existing and
future exploration of oil and gas reserves in the region.
Activities for this element focus on
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Training
Assistance in developing the national systems for oil spill
response (institutional capacity building);
Assistance in implementation of the relevant IMO and other
global Conventions in dealing with marine pollution matters.
4. Waste Management
 MARPOL 73/78 provides the international
framework on how pollution from ships
should be regulated and therefore, an
integrated method of reducing pollution
from ships and shipping activities should
address the following issues;
4. Waste Management
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Building capacity for dealing with waste management (including
technical training);
Emergency/contingency/disaster management;
Regional discharge standards (development of waste discharge
guidelines);
Regional waste management policy;
International conventions (specifically the benefits that can be
derived by ratifying them);
Sensitisation of policy- or decision-makers and public education;
Offshore activities;
Waste disposal investment programme;
Management of used oil; and
Funding options for dealing with pollution and waste management.
5. Baseline Information, Pollution
Problem Identification and
Assessment
 Only 3 countries in the region namely, Kenya,
Mauritius and South Africa have environmental
sensitivity maps.
 The IMO/UNEP initiative to develop the same for
Mozambique and Tanzania is still unaccomplished
 As a marine pollution prevention strategy, the
preparation of environmental sensitivity maps
need to receive high priority in the rest of the
member countries.
6. Ballast water management -IMO
guidelines for the control and
management of ships’ ballast water
 Most nations agree that the most effective
actions to minimize the negative effects of
ballast water transfer will come from a
coordinated, cooperative global approach.
In response to this need for uniform action,
the IMO, in 1993 adopted Assembly
resolution A. 774(18) heavily based on the
exchange of ballast water at sea.
7. Support Services for the
SPMEESA
 IMO has continued to provide support services
through the E & SA regional presence office.
 Significant emphasis are placed on awareness
building to ensure that not only the relevant
authorities in the region understand the complex
issues related to protection of the marine
environment, but also other players like doc
workers, fishermen, shipping company officials,
mass media as well a s the general public.
New Initiatives
Since the adoption of the SPMEESA in 1999
and its revision in 2002, a number of
initiatives have come into existence:
 The AU partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) Programme
 World Bank/GEF West Indian Ocean
Marine Electronic Highway project
 The African Maritime Transport Charter
THE AFRICAN UNION (AU)
MARITIME TRANSPORT
CHARTHER
About The AU Maritime Transport
Charter
 Adopted during the second AU conference
of Ministers responsible for marine
transport held in Durban, South Africa, in
October 2009.
 Falls within the scope of the international
law encompassing maritime transport and
related activities in the coastal, inland
waters, territorial seas and related activities
in landlocked member States.
Objective of the Charter
 To declare, articulate and implement harmonized
maritime transport policies capable of promoting
sustained growth and development of African
merchant fleets, maritime infrastructure,
protection of shippers interests, facilitation of
transit transport, protection of the continent from
maritime safety, security threats, and to foster
closer cooperation among the member States of
the same region and between the regions.
Specific Objectives
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Declare, articulate and implement harmonised maritime
transport policies capable of promoting sustained growth
and development of African Merchant fleets and to
foster cooperation among the Member States of the same
region and between the regions.
Facilitate and encourage regular consultations for
determining Africa common positions on issues of
international maritime policy and to define, for each
given problem, concerted solutions
Promote effective implementation of international
maritime instruments to which Member States are
parties.
Specific Objectives
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Promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation
among the maritime administrations of Member
States, and their respective operational
organisations in the field of maritime and inland
water ways transport and port activities.
Promote the funding, undertaking of research
studies by national institutions that encourage
the promotion and development of cooperation
in maritime and inland waterways transport and
port operations among states and regions.
Encourage the establishment and support of
maritime and ports administrations.
Specific Objectives
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Encourage the establishment of shippers’
councils and support them in the performance of
their functions.
Promote the establishment of national and
regional shipping lines and provide them the
assistance necessary for their success.
Develop and promote mutual assistance and
cooperation between Member States in the area
of maritime safety, security and protection of the
marine environment.
Specific Objectives
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Promote the sharing of best practices among
Member States in the overall management and
operations of Maritime administrations and other
maritime entities established in the terms of the
charter.
Promote the provision of maritime education
and training at all levels including Secondary
schools.
Promote the employment of seafarers, decent
working conditions and training of seafarers.
Specific Objectives
 Promote development of multimodal
transport and integration of all modes of
transport.
Articles contained in the charter
 The charter contains 52 articles in total
 Articles 22 and 28 lay emphasis on ports
authorities and protection of marine
environment
 Article 22 – Reform of Port Services –
Members States undertake to cooperate
towards the reform and efficiency of Port
Services and promotion of competitiveness
of Africa ports
Articles contained in the charter
 Article 28 – Protection and preservation of
the Marine Environment
 Member States shall seek to intensify their
efforts at, regional and international
levels, directly or with the support of
competent regional and international
organizations, to ensure the protection and
preservation of the marine environment.
Articles contained in the charter
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promote, either individually or in regional cooperation,
develop contingency plan and other measures aimed at
preventing and combating pollution incidents arising
from marine transport.
commit themselves to the creation of a sustainable
compensation regime to cover marine incidents of
pollution of the Sea that are not covered by existing
international compensation regimes.
implement a common policy aimed at preventing and
combating marine pollution from ships and other sources
of pollution
Conclusion and Recommendation
 With the adoption of the charter, the UN system
has called upon the UN agencies operating in
Africa, Regional Economic Commissions (RECs)
and organizations like PMAESA to program their
activities in line with the charter’s priorities and
objectives
 SPMEESA needs to be revised to reflect the
provisions of the AU Maritime Transport Charter
as this will
– make it easier for SPMEESA to be funded
along with other AU-NEPAD programmes
– Also reduce duplication
THANK YOU