What is the Global Initiative?
Launched in 1996 The Global Initiative (GI) is a partnership programme between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Ipieca. It assists governments, through IMO, and the oil and gas industry, through Ipieca, to work together to assist countries in strengthening national structures and capacity for oil spill preparedness and response.
The GI spans four regions:
- The Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Central Eurasia (OSPRI)
- West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF)
- Southeast Asia (GI SEA)
- The Caribbean (REMPEITC)
A summary of activities across the GIs
OSPRI: strengthening regional cooperation
Upcoming activities:
- Beginning in Q4, OSPRI will monitor the notification exercises to ensure the timely alerting of potential incidents among Caspian littoral states, coordinated by UNEP under the Aktau Protocol’s procedures
- In the same quarter, OSPRI is planning to participate in a virtual table-top exercise to build awareness of the procedures within the draft regional plan of cooperation
OSPRI is also collaborating with Kazakh authorities on national preparedness efforts to implement national sensitivity mapping, including:
- Progressing with the ratification of IMO conventions, including the Bunker Convention
- Starting a review of the national oil spill contingency plan
- Validating the national contingency plan's feasibility and updating information through industry-led exercises
GI WACAF: supporting The Gambia’s Oil Spill Contingency Plan
Recent highlights:
The GI WACAF has been supporting the development of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) in Gambia through:
- A joint project with the Regional Partnership for the Conservation of the Coastal and Marine Zone (PRCM) to provide tailored technical support
- In-country missions in June and September, including a national workshop to train key entities on the fundamentals of oil spill response
- Collaboration with member companies, sharing sensitivity maps with The Gambian national authorities
Upcoming activities:
- Sub-regional workshops focusing on implementation of IMO conventions and dispersant use in Togo and South Africa
- Joint workshop in Namibia with national authorities and industry around roles and responsibilities during a response
- National workshop in Mauritania around the NOSCP update and dispersant use policy development
GI SEA: bridging oil spill preparedness in Southeast Asia
Recent highlights:
- Participation in the 12th Thailand national oil and chemical spill exercise in Bangkok
- Collaboration on the signing conference and preparedness planning workshop for the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas Response Network Oil Spill Plan in Bali, Indonesia
- Involvement in the 14th Cooperation Forum in Singapore
- Delivery of a National Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) Workshop in Vietnam to support the country's accession to OPRC 1990
- Presentation at Spillcon 2023 in Brisbane, Australia
Upcoming activities:
- Participation in the 45th ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group alongside IMO, updating ASEAN member states on oil spill preparedness activities across the region
- National workshop in Cambodia to support the development of a national oil spill preparedness and response framework
- Regional workshop in Malaysia to support the operationalization of the ASEAN Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan
Explore the Ipieca-IOGP marine spill good practice guidance series
