Waste Management and Pollution Control
2 October, 2014 Majuro, Marshall Islands: A new plan, endorsed just last week, will result in the reduction of waste materials being dumped from ships in Pacific waters. And less pollution and waste in our oceans is good news for the people and environment of the Pacific region.
The Regional Reception Facilities Plan, developed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the first of its kind in the world.
The term 'reception facilities' refers to special infrastructure that enables ships to safely offload waste (such as garbage, sewage and used oil) when they arrive in port. This means that ships are less likely to simply dump waste when they are at sea - or indeed, when they're in port.
Many small island developing states lack these reception facilities. The significance of this Plan is that it recognises five Pacific shipping hubs - in Apia, Suva, Port Moresby, Noumea and Papeete - as being regional centres for the safe offloading of waste from ships.
Aside from the obvious benefit of less waste in our oceans, the Plan will mean that an increased number of countries are able to sign up to the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Previously, the lack of reception facilities had prevented many countries from becoming a Party to this important international agreement.
Mr Anthony Talouli, Pollution Adviser at SPREP, explains:
"This is the first time that an IMO Convention has recognised the unique challenges faced by small island developing states. As a result of this new Plan, small island developing states in the Pacific region will be able to better enforce the MARPOL Convention and prevent ships from polluting in their national waters."
SPREP's Director of Waste Management and Pollution Control, Dr David Haynes, explains the implications of this world-first approach to marine pollution:
"This partnership between SPREP and AMSA to improve ship waste management facilities will have lasting benefits for the Pacific region and its communities who rely to a large extent on its unpolluted marine resources for their livelihoods."
The endorsement of the Plan was a key outcome of the twelfth meeting of the Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region and Related Protocols - known as the Noumea Convention - which concluded in Majuro, Marshall Islands on 26 September.
SPREP and AMSA will be presenting the endorsed Regional Reception Facilities Plan to the international community at the International Maritime Organization Marine Environment Programme Committee Meeting in April, 2015.
For more information please contact Anthony Talouli, SPREP Pollution Adviser, [email protected]
Image: Stuart Chape
The Regional Reception Facilities Plan, developed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the first of its kind in the world.
The term 'reception facilities' refers to special infrastructure that enables ships to safely offload waste (such as garbage, sewage and used oil) when they arrive in port. This means that ships are less likely to simply dump waste when they are at sea - or indeed, when they're in port.
Many small island developing states lack these reception facilities. The significance of this Plan is that it recognises five Pacific shipping hubs - in Apia, Suva, Port Moresby, Noumea and Papeete - as being regional centres for the safe offloading of waste from ships.
Aside from the obvious benefit of less waste in our oceans, the Plan will mean that an increased number of countries are able to sign up to the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Previously, the lack of reception facilities had prevented many countries from becoming a Party to this important international agreement.
Mr Anthony Talouli, Pollution Adviser at SPREP, explains:
"This is the first time that an IMO Convention has recognised the unique challenges faced by small island developing states. As a result of this new Plan, small island developing states in the Pacific region will be able to better enforce the MARPOL Convention and prevent ships from polluting in their national waters."
Pictured above: Mr Anthony Talouli, SPREP.
SPREP's Director of Waste Management and Pollution Control, Dr David Haynes, explains the implications of this world-first approach to marine pollution:
"This partnership between SPREP and AMSA to improve ship waste management facilities will have lasting benefits for the Pacific region and its communities who rely to a large extent on its unpolluted marine resources for their livelihoods."
The endorsement of the Plan was a key outcome of the twelfth meeting of the Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region and Related Protocols - known as the Noumea Convention - which concluded in Majuro, Marshall Islands on 26 September.
SPREP and AMSA will be presenting the endorsed Regional Reception Facilities Plan to the international community at the International Maritime Organization Marine Environment Programme Committee Meeting in April, 2015.
For more information please contact Anthony Talouli, SPREP Pollution Adviser, [email protected]