A programme that will directly address the transfer of aquatic species via ships’ hulls has been given the go-ahead to start the preparation phase.
Known as the GloFouling Partnerships project, the programme is to implement the IMO’s guidelines on the control and management of ships’ biofouling to reduce the transfer of species to non-native environments.
There are ongoing concerns that allowing species to inhabit environments from which they do not naturally occur can have significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts. To address these concerns, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set up the GloBallast Partnerships project.
Using a 3-tier system and focussing on national policy, legal, and institutional reforms in developing countries, the GloBallast partnerships programme helps these countries with integrated management, helping them to reduce the risk of ballast water mediated bioinvasions and prepare for compliance with the IMO’s ballast water management convention. Although planned as a 5-year project initially, it ran from 2007-June 2017.
This GloFouling programme will continue to build on the success of the GloBallast project, helping coastal communities in developing countries to build capacity to reduce the invasion of species that aren’t naturally occurring. This will not only positively impact the environment but will bring economic opportunities and help the livelihoods of millions of people across the globe, according to Chris Severin, Senior Environmental Specialist from the GEF.
One method of doing so is to prevent or reduce the number of species picked up by ships’ hulls. Treating the hull is a critical first step that can be taken to deter microorganisms from ships, while reducing drag, thereby leading to increased efficiency, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and of course, lower operational costs.
By July 2022, the programme aims to have effective national policies in place in several developing countries that support the IMO’s biofouling guidelines, as well as over 1,000 people capacitated through national and regional training programmes in biofouling management. There will be 2 specialised R&D conferences to facilitate information exchange and private sector partnerships to catalyse innovation and technology transfer that is related to biofouling management.
Following approval in May 2017, the GloFouling project now has a total funding of US $6.9m. It is currently going through its preparation phase that will be resubmitted to the GEF for endorsement, before implementation can begin.
According to Andrew Hudson, Head, UNDP Water & Ocean Governance Programme, “the GloFouling Partnerships will be an excellent opportunity to help tackle one of the key remaining vectors for the transfer of invasive aquatic species, which cause sizeable impacts on economies and livelihoods”.
The full name of the project will be Building Partnerships to Assist Developing Countries to Minimize the Impacts from Aquatic Biofouling” (GloFouling Partnerships).
Project preparation will be undertaken by the IMO Secretariat. Interested member states are encouraged to inform the Secretariat of their intention to participate in the new project as soon as possible.
Find out more about the partnership on our blogs and the GloFouling programme here.
Fathom-News
editor@fathom-mi.com
