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Strengthening spill preparedness across the globe, since 1996

The Global Initiative is a joint programme between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Ipieca. It brings together governments and the oil and gas sector to work collectively to enhance oil spill preparedness and response for the protection of the marine environment and local communities.

What is the Global Initiative?

Launched in 1996, the Global Initiative is a partnership between the IMO, representing governments, and Ipieca, representing the oil and gas sector. Its aim is to enhance preparedness and response capacity for marine pollution incidents, in support of the IMO’s International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC, 1990).

  • Why is the Global Initiative important?
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    • Environmental and social protection - minimises the impact of pollution on the marine environment and local communities
    • Cooperation and communication - shapes national and regional marine spill preparedness, policy and agreements through government and industry collaboration
    • Capacity development - supports the development of preparedness and response capacity for a timely and effective response when pollution incidents occur
    • Industry commitment - demonstrates industry leadership and shared responsibility
  • What are the aims of the Global Initiative?
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    • Promote ratification of key international conventions related to marine spill preparedness and response
    • Support the development of preparedness and response systems at national, subregional and regional level
    • Facilitate the development and implementation of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements related to spill preparedness and response

    While the prevention of oil spills is of paramount importance, the Global Initiative is key to ensuring that governments and industry are well prepared to respond to any spill that might occur.

  • How does the Global Initiative work?
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    The Global Initiative works to achieve its aims through:

    • Marine spill prevention, preparedness and response exercises, workshops, webinars and conferences, helping to build country and regional spill preparedness and response capacity
    • Reviewing and providing inputs to support the development of national oil spill contingency plans
    • Enabling relationship building between government and industry, so if a spill occurs, decision-makers know each other, understand where responsibilities lie and are ready to work together

Celebrating 30 years of the GI

For 30 years, through the Global Initiative, the IMO has stood alongside Ipieca, a partnership built on a simple idea that preventing and responding to oil spills is stronger when governments and industry work together.

Patricia Charlebois, Deputy Director, Marine Environment Division, IMO

30 years is a long time for any partnership to last. What makes the IMO-Ipieca Global Initiative so special is that it has endured because it does something very practical and very necessary. It brings government and industry together before incidents happen, and it helps countries strengthen their preparedness systems.

Brian Sullivan, CEO, Ipieca

    What regions does the Global Initiative cover?

    The GI targets high-risk areas where the environmental and socio-economic impacts of spills could be severe. There are three regional GI programmes world-wide:

    • The Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF)
    • The Global Initiative for South East Asia (GI SEA)
    • The Oil Spill Preparedness Regional Initiative (OSPRI) for the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Central Eurasia

    GI WACAF

    The GI WACAF project supports oil spill preparedness and response across a region characterised by extensive coastlines, significant offshore oil and gas activity, busy shipping routes and environmentally sensitive marine and coastal areas. The project supports the development and testing of national oil spill contingency plans, national training and exercises and stronger transboundary cooperation.

    Key highlights

    • 5,200+ people trained since 2006
    • National contingency plans up from 5 to 22 countries

    Find out more

    GI SEA

    GI SEA was established as a trusted partner to governments and industry across the 11 ASEAN Member States, supporting the strengthening of marine spill preparedness at national, subregional and regional levels. GI SEA also serves as a dialogue partner to the ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group, supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan.

    Key highlights

    • Finalised dispersant-use guidelines for the Gulf of Thailand
    • Reactivated regional cooperation agreements and supported regulatory alignment across the region

    Find out more

    OSPRI

    OSPRI works through the Bucharest Convention and the Tehran Convention to support governments, industry and regional organisations. It helps build common approaches, strengthen national and regional contingency planning, and develop the cooperation needed to respond effectively to oil pollution incidents, including those that may exceed national capabilities or cross boundaries.

    Key highlights

    • Supported ratification of the four key IMO conventions related to oil spill preparedness in the region
    • Regional plans developed under the Bucharest and Tehran frameworks that govern transboundary oil spill preparedness, response, and cooperation for the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, respectively
    • Inputs to the development of the oil pollution protocol for the Caspian Sea, known as the Aktau Protocol

    Find out more

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