United Nations Development Program News

Ten organizations have joined forces to combat illegal wildlife trafficking through increasing awareness and vigilance across global supply chains.Together, they have produced practical guidelines for all supply chain participants, with advice on measures to take, questions to ask to help identify criminal wildlife trade, and guidance on reporting suspicious activities. An accompanying "Red Flags" document serves as a daily reference for all individuals involved in the supply chain.

A newly signed initiative is set to provide pilot projects to demonstrate technical solutions for biofouling management in developing countries, address the transfer of invasive aquatic species and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.The TEST (Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies) Biofouling Project will run for four years (2022-2025), following an agreement signed on December 8 by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

ONE SEA has appointed Capt Eero Lehtovaara as its new Chairman. Lehtovaara, a Master Mariner and Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute, is Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs at ABB Marine & Ports.He brings a wealth of experience to the expanding ONE SEA alliance where he has been a Board member for two years, as well as Vice Chairman. His past experience at sea provides a unique understanding of the challenges set by new regulations, human resource management and technological developments…

Marine biodiversity is under threat from invasive aquatic species, but International Maritime Organization (IMO) is leading a major global project to combat that threat and find solutions to this major problem.And that project has just passed two major milestones as two more countries, Indonesia and Mexico, have formed their national task force to take part in the initiative, said a press note from the UN body.The project, GloFouling Partnerships, is a joint initiative between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and IMO. It will help developing countries to tackle invasive aquatic species…

The initial phase of the Glofouling Partnerships project is now well and truly underway with a series of technical workshops in the Pacific, stated  International Maritime Organization (IMO).The UN body said that the key message delivered to participants was that once introduced, marine invasive species can be hard to eradicate - and invasive species represent a potential major threat to the Pacific Ocean's biodiversity and the ecological integrity of Small Island Developing States.The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing bio-invasions by organisms which can build up on ship's hulls and other marine structures.Meanwhile…

HullWiper Ltd has signed a new agreement with Indian Ocean-based underwater hull cleaning specialists Immersub, marking its first step into the African continent in the continued drive to keep vessels' hulls, and the oceans, free of non-native marine species.It is the latest extension of HullWiper’s leasing program, introduced in 2017 to work with partners around the world to offer ship owners and operators a cost-efficient, brush- and diver-free alternative to traditional hull cleaning methods that protects anti-fouling coating on vessel hulls and the oceans.

The ground-breaking Global Industry Alliance (GIA) – a partnership of key maritime stakeholders pursuing low carbon shipping – has met at International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters, London (7 December). The GIA is made up of leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, port and oil companies – tasked with identifying and developing innovative ways to encourage use of energy-efficiency technologies and operations. The GIA Task Force meeting, the second one in the series, saw 20 industry representatives from across the Alliance’s 16 member companies discuss how to make further progress on on-going GIA funded activities and to agree new priority areas to pursue under the partnership.

At a ceremony in Singapore Bureau Veritas formally joined the Global Industry Alliance (GIA). The GIA was officially inaugurated on June 29 by IMO Secretary General, Mr Kitack Lim. 17 companies have now signed up to join the GIA, which will work within a framework established by Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnership (GloMEEP) Project, a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - IMO project. The GIA will support improving the energy efficiency of ships and shipping by collectively identifying and developing innovative solutions to address common barriers and promote the uptake of energy efficiency technologies and operational measures.

Days after the announcement by International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the Global Industry Alliance (GIA), another commercial company has joined the initiative to help shipping and related industries transition towards a low-carbon future. The Grimaldi Group, a global shipping and logistics company, has become the 14th company to join the GIA, a public-private partnership initiative in which 'industry champions' from various sectors of the industry come together to tackle the challenges of decarbonizing the shipping sector. The GIA members will identify and develop innovative solutions to barriers holding back the uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency technologies and operational measures in shipping.

Leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, and oil companies have signed up to a new Global Industry Alliance (GIA) to support transitioning shipping and its related industries towards a low carbon future. Thirteen companies have signed up to launch the GIA, under the auspices of the GloMEEP Project, a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-International Maritime Organization (IMO) project aimed at supporting developing countries in  the implementation of energy efficiency measures for shipping. Together, the GIA partners…

Nearly 300 delegates from International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States, international NGOs and intergovernmental organizations have gathered at IMO Headquarters in London for the first meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (26-30 June). The group, which is meeting in a closed session, will provide a report to next week’s session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71) (full preview here). The working group report will form the basis for further deliberation in relation to the elements set out in the Roadmap for developing a comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which was agreed at MEPC 70.

Three new guides that will support States to effectively implement IMO-adopted mandatory energy-efficiency measures for shipping have been rolled out during a training under the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-International Maritime Organization (IMO) GloMEEP Project, paving the way for further work in climate change mitigation by the maritime sector. The GloMEEP training was held from 12 to 14 September in Batumi, Georgia, which is one of the Lead Pilot Countries of the Project. The GloMEEP Project is part of IMO’s continued work to support developing countries to prevent air pollution and address greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

Ballast water management experts, meeting at the recent IMO-GloBallast R&D Forum in Canada, have showcased the latest developments in ballast water management and highlighted the areas where further research is needed, in order to prevent the spread of potentially harmful species in ballast water. Some 140 participants from IMO Member States, academia, private sector, testing facilities and the maritime technology industry were meeting at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada, for the 6th Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-IMO GloBallast R&D Forum and Exhibition on Ballast Water Management (16-18 March 2016), under the banner “Ballast Water Management Convention – moving towards implementation”.

The Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP), which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, was formally launched on Monday, September 28, in Singapore, at the IMO-Singapore Future-Ready Shipping 2015 conference. This Global Environment Facility (GEF)/United Nations Development Program (UNDP)/IMO project, formally designated “Transforming the Global Maritime Transport Industry towards a Low Carbon Future through Improved Energy Efficiency”…

Several United Nations (UN) agencies have agreed to establish a mechanism to enhance existing inter-agency communication with respect to the maritime aspects of mixed migration by sea. Agencies concerned about the loss of life, injury, trauma and serious human rights violations affecting migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees traveling by sea met in London last week (March 4-5) at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Building on the Joint Statement on Protection at Sea in the Twenty-First Century…

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark met International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu at IMO Headquarters on January 20, where the two highlighted common commitment to sustainable development and discussed the important role of maritime transportation in building the economies of developing countries. The leaders noted the two multimillion dollar partnerships projects executed by IMO in partnership with the UNDP to address the threat of invasive species in ships’ ballast water.

The Joint Shipping Initiative - made up of Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena and Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and "K" Line - has announced it has given$1.5 million of additional funds to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project to improve the lives of Somalis and security for seafarers. The UNDP's "Alternative Livelihoods to Piracy in Puntland and Central Regions ofSomalia" project aims to reduce piracy off the coast of east Africa through local economic development, job creation, training, and business development grants on-shore in one of the world's poorest countries.

The fund, which will take effect on April 1st, 2014, and run for three years, will be made up of contributions from participating ports and used to subsidize cruise companies to develop and market their cruise products. A major requirement is that cruise lines must deploy vessels to at least two participating ports or territories in a single itinerary. HKTB Executive Director Anthony Lau said, "The launch of the fund marks a significant step towards regional cruise co-operation…

A new formal group of organizations involved in testing for the certification of ballast water treatment systems has been set up, known as the “GloBal TestNet,” to facilitate increased standardization and harmonization of test procedures and information exchange. The move is expected to benefit test facility clients as well as the end-users of ballast water treatment technologies: the ship owners who need cost-effective and environmentally-friendly systems to meet the requirements of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention), 2004. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing the GloBal TestNet was signed on October 21…

Tiny alien invaders transported in ballast water star as the villains in a new documentary film on harmful organisms in ships’ ballast water launched on March 23 by IMO, the United Nations agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships, and BBC Worldwide. The documentary film, “Invaders from the Sea”, which will be broadcasted/distributed on television worldwide, shows that harmful organisms transported in ballast water by ships have caused biological and economic havoc around the world, largely due to the expanded sea trade and traffic volume over the last few decades. The…

More than 100 people at the Miraflores Locks as Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance awarded upon the Department of Security and Environment's Environmental Division of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) the coveted ISO 14001 certification. Juan Héctor Diaz, director of the Department of Security and Environment, accepted the certification at a ceremony at the Miraflores Locks Visitor's Center. Participants included the Academy for Environmental Education Development (AED), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Panama Ministry of Health (MINSA), Panama National Environment Authority (ANAM) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).