Implementation and technical assistance
To be effective, IMO regulations must be applied globally and the Organization's Technical Assistance Programme is aimed at helping those countries which need assistance to develop the infrastructure and knowledge necessary to implement legislation.
In the case of ballast water regulations, IMO, alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environmental Facility (GEF)2, began a project in 1997 on "Removal of Barriers to the Effective Implementation of Ballast Water Control and Management Measures in Developing Countries".
The initial stages of the project, involving a report on ballast water management in a number of countries, have been completed and it is hoped the GEF Council in April 1999 will approve the launching of a three-year US$7.3 million project.
The long-term objective is to assist developing countries in establishing capacities, such as thorough training programmes, to reduce the transfer of harmful organisms and pathogens in ships' ballast water, in accordance with the IMO guidelines - and the mandatory regulations when they come into force - on ballast water management.
Full and effective implementation of ballast water regulations require that every seafarer on board a ship has to be fully aware why specific measures are taken, such as the exchange of ballast water at high sea, the monitoring of port and ballast waters, or the cleaning of tanks and lockers of sediments.
At the same time, port State authorities and officials need to be aware of relevant IMO requirements and the ballast water management plans developed for each ship as well as specific local criteria, such as when a particular species is being targeted as an unwanted alien and it is important to ensure ballast water is not carrying that species.
It is planned to establish five pilot demonstration sites in developing countries to test effective and manageable ballast control measures. Specific strategies for helping to establish ballast water control measures may include: training and provision of information; scientific and technical assistance, such as port and ballast water sampling and monitoring programmes; strengthening national laws and their enforcement; promoting bilateral and regional measures.
Specific ballast water management measures to be tested under the project may include: open ocean ballast-exchange or continuous flushing; treating "contaminated" ballast water with heat or other physical and chemical methods; port monitoring programmes to establish whether there are any unwanted organisms in water which, if used for ballasting might pose a threat to the port of discharge; and fresh water ballasting.
2 The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) is a fund that helps countries translate global concerns into national action to help fight ozone depletion, global warming, loss of biodiversity and pollution of international waters by means of grant funding. The managing partners of the GEF are the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.
