Report Oil Spill Preparedness in Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean - Background Document

This report supports the preparatory work for a regional workshop on cooperation in preparedness and response to marine spills in Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, held from 3 to 5 March 2020 in the Republic of Tanzania. The context of current oil spill preparedness in the region is that significant work has been undertaken, primarily under the aegis of international projects and donor agency programmes. This has created a framework of national and regional contingency planning, which requires finalization and implementation in order to demonstrate robust and sustainable preparedness and response capability. This report summarises previous oil spill preparedness work and provides a reference for future discussions. The regional workshop in March addressed the issue of the establishment of a regional centre or mechanism for spill preparedness and response, an issue which continues to be raised by Member States as a priority need for the region. In this connection, the workshop sought clarification and agreement on both the remit or mandate, as well as the likelihood of a sustained funding mechanism for the future establishment of such a centre or mechanism. At the workshop in March, in order to ensure that previous work is referenced and not duplicated, it was recommended that discussions focus on:

1. The current status and signatories to the Agreement on the Regional Contingency Plan for Preparedness for and Response to major Marine Pollution Incidents in the Western Indian Ocean.
2. The current status of the Regional Coordination Centre (RCC) proposal originally developed in detail by SAMSA under the WIOMH project, including whether the documentation (Host Country Agreement, Terms of Reference, Work Programme and Budget) is still relevant.
3. Do the existing models for regional centres from other locations provide a viable option for the Western Indian Ocean?
4. What levels of financing are required and what sources of funding are feasible to support an RCC?
5. The potential for existing regional maritime security coordination centres, e.g. RCOC Seychelles, to integrate regional coordination activities for marine pollution.
6. Has national information relating to oil spill preparedness and response been provided to SEAIGNEP for inclusion in their regional master plan and can it be made available? Is there scope for regional initiatives such as SEAIGNEP to assume the role of enhancing cooperation for regional pollution preparedness and response.