Implementing
World Bank
Agency
Region
Western Indian Ocean Islands (Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius
Focal Area
International Waters
Project Title
Western Indian Ocean Islands Oil Spill Contingency Planning
GEF Allocation
US$3.16 million
Cofinancing
US$1.12 million
US$0.59 (Governments of Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius)
US$0.04 (Private ­ Indian Ocean)
US$0.33 (Private Oil Industry)
US$0.16 (Private ­ South Africa)
Total Financing
US$4.28 million
Dates
December 1998­December 2003
Environmental
· Inadequate national and regional capacity to respond to oil spill emergencies in the western
Problem
Indian Ocean region
Project Goals
· Establish appropriate legal and institutional frameworks to ensure compliance with marine
conventions
· Develop national and regional contingency planning processes
· Build appropriate national and regional oil response capacity
· Establish sustainable financial and institutional agreements through regional cooperation
arrangements
A World Bank study identified marine oil pollution from tanker traffic as one of the most serious
coastal management issues for East Africa and the Mozambique Channel, in particular. Other
agencies have also noted the region's vulnerability. As a whole, the region lacks legislation,
equipment, and contingency plans in the case of oil spills, although a few countries have ratified
some international conventions and developed but not tested national oil spill response plans.
Regional oil spill response capacity lies in South Africa and the International Response Center, but
this cannot substitute for national and regional response capacity.
The Project
This project, being implemented by the ministries of environment in participating countries and the
Indian Ocean Commission Secretariat, is working to protect the environmental integrity of the
coastal and marine ecosystems of a large, biologically rich and relatively pristine part of the western
Indian Ocean. It is also working to limit contamination of international waters and conserve
globally significant marine and coastal biodiversity. Specific objectives are to address the threat of
oil spills in the region, encourage the private sector to use technological advances to resolve
associated transboundary concerns, and develop a financing mechanism to sustain national and
regional capacity promoted by the project to deal with oil spills.
Activities
· Legislation and regulation for conventions. This component assists the four island nations in developing
national legislative frameworks that take account of oil spill­related conventions.
· National oil spill contingency plans. This component helps develop national capacity for environmental
data collection and information management systems, identifying areas of environmental and
socioeconomic importance, and establishing national priority areas. National contingency plans will be
developed in Comoros and Madagascar and reviewed and tested in Seychelles and Mauritius.
· Oil spill response equipment. This component consists of determining and procuring oil spill response
equipment as well as training in equipment operation and maintenance.
· National capacity building. This component involves (a) training in environmental sensitivity mapping,
(b) training of trainers, (c) expert advice on national contingency plans, oil spill equipment, effects of oil
in the marine environment, risk assessment, and appropriate response strategies, (d) support for
attendance of government officials at international seminars on oil pollution and technology, among
others, and (e) expertise on developing, reviewing, and testing an oil spill response manual.
· Regional institution strengthening. This component helps develop a regional plan to respond to a major
oil spill.
Benefits
· Significantly reduce the risk of devastating impacts on biologically rich ecosystems from oil
spills
· Promote growth in tourism and protect economically important fisheries
· Enhance capacity of governments to respond to oil spills and foster cooperation among
countries.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a financial mechanism that provides grants and concessional funds to developing countries for projects and
activities designed to protect the global environment. GEF resources address climate change, biological diversity, international waters, and depletion of the
ozone layer. Activities concerning land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation as they relate to the four focal areas, are also eligible for funding.
GEF is a joint venture of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank.
These three agencies implement GEF projects.
For more information on this project, contact:
For more information on GEF:
Indian Ocean Commission Secretariat
GEF Headquarters
1818 H Street NW
Global Environment Division
Washington DC 20433 USA
The World Bank
Tel: (202) 473-0508 Fax: (202) 522-3240/522-3245
1818 H Street NW
www.gefweb.org
Washington DC 20433 USA
Tel: (202) 473-1816 Fax: (202) 522-3256
Chief Executive Officer:
E-mail: htowsey@worldbank.org
Mohamed T. El-Ashry
www.worldbank.org/html/pic/gefdoc.htm
Senior External Relations Coordinator:
Hutton G. Archer
E-mail: harcher@worldbank.org