United Nations Development Programme News

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had started the removal of more than 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast in a complex operation it hopes will ward off a regional disaster.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.A U.N. spokesperson said on Tuesday a spill could cost $20 billion to clean up.The war in Yemen caused the suspension in 2015 of maintenance operations on the Safer…

Dutch marine services firm Boskalis has, through its subsidiary SMIT Salvage, reached an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to remove the oil from the decaying FSO Safer moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a push to avoid environmental disaster. This project is a part of the UN-coordinated operation to remove and transfer more than one million barrels of oil from the decaying tanker into a safe modern tanker and the responsible disposal of the Safer.

The GloFouling Partnerships project, is a joint initiative between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) ,  has 12 Lead Partnering Countries.Indonesia and Mexico have recently joined Fiji, Tonga, Brazil, Madagascar, Mauritius and Philippines as those which have already established their national task forces. Jordan, Sri Lanka, Peru and Ecuador will join in the coming months.The project will help developing countries to tackle invasive aquatic species transferred through so-called biofouling – on ships’ hulls and on other marine structures.Marine biodiversity is under threat from invasive aquatic species…

Biodiversity can be threatened by organisms which can build up on ships' hulls and other marine structures, a process known as biofouling.A press note from International Maritime Organization (IMO) said that during a workshop in Arraial do Cabo, Brazil (5 August), experts on biofouling and invasive species and others took the first steps towards setting up a national task force to tackle the issue.According to the UN body, Brazil is one of 12 lead partnering countries in the GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project, which aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing biofouling.Each lead partnering country's national task force…

International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body, announced that a major five-year project to help protect marine biodiversity has been kick-started at a global workshop at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (18-20 March).The IMO-executed GloFouling Partnerships project will address bioinvasions by organisms which can build up on ships’ hulls and other marine structures. The project is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO.Representatives from 12 lead partnering countries, four regional organizations, IOC-UNESCO, the World Ocean Council and…

Mauritius is one of 12 countries spearheading the International Marine Organisation (IMO) GloFouling Project, a collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO, created to implement guidelines for the control and management of the transfer of invasive marine species on vessel hulls.The underwater hull cleaning technology provider HullWiper said that it would support efforts to combat marine biofouling in Mauritian waters and introduce underwater hull cleaning solution to the Mauritian maritime community.Change is the simple answer to the “environmental emergency” presented by marine biofouling and the transfer of invasive species.

The GloFouling Partnerships project - a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) -  has been launched.The new international effort to combat the negative environmental impacts of the transfer of aquatic species through ships  will address the build-up of aquatic organisms on a ship’s underwater hull and on other marine mobile infrastructure.The introduction of invasive aquatic organisms into new marine environments not only affects biodiversity and ecosystem health, but also has measurable impacts on a number of economic sectors such as fisheries, aquaculture and ocean energy.

An IMarEST workshop workshop on practical biofouling management strategies just has concluded in Melbourne, Australia, September 12-15. IMO is working actively to address biofouling issues by implementing practices to control and manage undesirable accumulation of aquatic organisms like, plants, algae and animals on ships’ hulls. One of the IMO’s main objective at the conference is to promote a new partnership project together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which seek to curb the spread of bioinvasion as well as to identify future partners for the project. The event also looked at current and future regulations, as well as gaps hindering the implementation of effective biofouling management strategies and standards.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, aiming at galvanizing concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the United Nations Ocean Conference in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, maintaining the momentum for action to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Thomson will lead the United Nations advocacy and public outreach efforts inside and outside of the United Nations system, ensuring that the many positive outcomes of the Ocean Conference, including the close to 1,400 voluntary commitments, are fully analysed and implemented.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) approves new project concept to address major aquatic invasive species vector. A new global project to help protect marine ecosystems from the negative effects of invasive aquatic species has been given the go-ahead for preparation. The GloFouling Partnerships project – a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) – will address the transfer of aquatic species through biofouling, in other words, the build-up of aquatic organisms on a ship’s underwater hull and structures. The project will focus on the implementation of the IMO Guidelines for the control and management of ships’ biofouling…

To mark World Oceans Day on May 8, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)   named Australian musician Cody Simpson as its first-ever Ocean Advocate to help raise awareness of the crucial role the ocean plays in the health of the planet and people. “I grew up by the ocean and the beach,” said  Simpson during an event held at UN Headquarters in New York. “I want to do everything I can in my own life to protect and preserve the ocean. According to UNDP, Simpson will kick off off his new role as part of The Ocean Conference, which has been under way since Monday and which will wrap up on Friday, 9 June. He will attend a photo exhibition…

During the 20th century, tiny organisms carried in the ballast water of ships began to be recognized as alien invasive species. These aquatic species were hitching a ride across the oceans and some were embedding themselves in new areas, multiplying and becoming harmful invasive aquatic species. The impacts on native species, local ecosystems and sea-based economies have, in some cases, been devastating. The story of how global partnerships, governments, industry, academia and other stakeholders came together to tackle this problem is told in a new publication, The GloBallast Story, launched (6 June) during a side event at the UN Ocean Conference in New York.

A decade-long project to promote implementation of an international treaty stemming the transfer of potentially invasive species in ships’ ballast water has reached a successful conclusion at a meeting of stakeholders from Governments, industry and UN bodies. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been executing the GloBallast Partnerships Program in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project was launched in 2007 after an initial 4-year phase and has been assisting developing countries to reduce the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships’ ballast water and implement the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.

Preparations are underway in New York ahead of June’s UN Oceans Conference, which is focused on achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: ‘Life Below Water’. An estimated 40% of the world’s oceans are being badly affected by unsustainable practices. Goal 14 aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. International Maritime Organization (IMO) supports this objective by setting global standards designed to ensure shipping does not adversely impact the environment, as well as providing technical assistance needed by countries to implement those standards. During a high-level meeting of UN experts and government officials…

The world’s largest shipping and airline companies, port operators and transport groups have committed to trying to shut down the main international wildlife trafficking routes. The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) – a pioneering coalition of companies from across the global shipping industry – has signed a Declaration to tackle global wildlife trafficking routes. The Declaration was unveiled by The Duke of Cambridge Prince William and is the culmination of 12 months of work to develop a plan, led by the transport sector, to crack down on illegal wildlife trafficking routes. “The poaching crisis is bringing violence, death, and corruption to many vulnerable communities and threatens to rob future generations of their livelihoods,” said the Duke of Cambridge.

The first national workshop under the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships GloMEEP), Project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, has been held in Georgia. Georgia is one of the Lead Pilot Countries for the project, which aims to build understanding and knowledge of technical and operational energy-efficiency measures to lead maritime transport into a low-carbon future. The national workshop in Batumi, Georgia (15-17 December), focused on raising awareness of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), in particular the energy-efficiency regulations in chapter 4.

Global marine terminal operator DP World has agreed to a set of 11 principles designed to help tackle the US$ 19 billion illegal wildlife trade. In a groundbreaking meeting in London last week, members of the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products finalised the document that will shape the efforts of its transport and logistics sector members in the future. The Declaration and Commitments cover a raft of issues from information sharing and detection, practical measures to stop the transportation of illegal wildlife products and a common determination to tackle the illegal trade, wherever it may be.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed an agreement to allocate US$2.0 million to a two-year global maritime energy efficiency partnership project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping. The so-called GloMEEP project, formally designated “Transforming the Global Maritime Transport Industry towards a Low Carbon Future through Improved Energy Efficiency”, will focus in particular on building capacity to implement technical and operational measures in developing countries, where shipping is increasingly concentrated.

The huge potential of the oceans and the maritime industry to assist in the development of the African continent has already been noted, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Koji Shemizu, has said. African should emulate Japan in exploiting their vast maritime resources to bolster their economic progress, he said. Strong industrial policy, firmly and formally adopted by the Government, is a crucial element for any industry in any nation and even more so for the maritime industry. Maritime development, under a formal national maritime transportation policy, will lead Africa towards prosperity. Sekimizu was speaking in Nairobi last in Kenya's first National Maritime Conference.

Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena & Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and “K” Line support job creation & capacity building projects in Somalia. This collaboration between many in the shipping industry and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) is the first step in an initiative, launched in February 2012, designed to make a contribution to the rebuilding of a stable Somalia and thus reduce the risk of piracy to seafarers in the Indian Ocean. Grahaeme Henderson, Vice President Shell Shipping said: “The safety of seafarers is the priority of all of us involved in this maritime industry led initiative. The UNDP has been selected because…

The GEF/UNDP/IMO GloBallast Program, a project, executed by IMO which is aimed at preventing the spread of unwanted alien organisms in ballast water, has won the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) Queen's Golden Jubilee Marine Environment Award. The final “heat” was held on the evening of 1 October, when the finalists made a presentation to the judging panel and a general audience at IMarEST’s London headquarters. The problem of invasive species is largely due to the expanded trade and traffic volume over the last few decades. The effects in many areas of the world have been devastating. Quantitative data show the rate of bio-invasions is continuing to increase at an alarming rate, in many cases exponentially, and new areas are being invaded all the time.

As global attention in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami tragedy turns towards the massive job of repairing long-term damage and restoring battered infrastructures, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is playing its part in co-ordinating efforts to attend to the maritime infrastructure in the affected regions. IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has stressed the strategic importance of ensuring that ports, navigational aids and other key elements of the maritime infrastructure are in effective working order as soon as possible, both to facilitate the medium and long-term recovery of the affected areas and to ensure that short-term aid arriving by sea can do so efficiently and in safety.

Funding for the GloBallast Partnerships project, to assist developing countries in reducing the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms in ships' ballast water, has been approved by the intergovernmental Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), enabling the project to enter an exciting new phase. The main objective of GloBallast Partnerships (full title: Building Partnerships to Assist Developing Countries to Reduce the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water) is to assist particularly vulnerable countries and/or regions to enact legal, policy and institutional reforms to meet the objectives of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM convention), adopted by IMO in February 2004.