The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has partnered with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address the environmental consequences of ballast water discharge from ships.
The project also seeks to prepare the shipping and port sectors to comply with the 2004 IMO International Convention, which is expected to come into effect soon.
26 October 2011: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the new phase of the GloBallast Partnerships Project, which aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing the global spread of invasive species and pathogens in the ballast tanks of international cargo vessels. The EBRD supports GloBallast, which is conducted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund has provided EUR320,000 for training and awareness programmes and other forms of support for the the technical and infrastructural capacity to cope with the spread of invasives through ballast water discharge. In the first phase of the project, introductory training sessions were conducted in Russia and Ukraine earlier in 2011. The second phase, beginning in December 2011, will target private sector companies. The trainings will cover the safe exchange and treatment of ballast water.
The project also seeks to prepare the shipping and port sectors to comply with the 2004 IMO International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments, which is expected to come into effect soon. [EBRD News]