|
Biodiversity wanes in New York
Throttling invasive species by TJ Sinnott
Bulwark for the Great Lakes and Hudson River by P Gerrity
Stopping ballast water "stowaways" by D Pughiuc
Biological pollutants in the Great Lakes by EL Mills, KT Holeck
Water quality signatures and the zebra mussel invasion by DA Matthews, SW Effler
Zebra mussel population dynamics: Implications for water quality modeling by CL Lange, DR Opdyke, JC Powers
Bad seeds: an introduction to invasive plants by AD Halpern, CA Boesse, AE Altor
You can help stop the plant invasion
President's message by D Ellis
Executive director's message by P Cerro-Reehil
Spring 2001 — Vol. 31, No. 1
Stopping ballast water "stowaways"
|
The Global Ballast Water Management Programme (GloBallast), described by Friends of the Earth as "one of the most exciting environmental project in the world today," is now in full swing at International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquarters in London. GloBallast was established in response to the growing threat of invasive marine species carried in ships' ballast water. The program's goals are:
- To assist developing countries reduce the transfer of harmful organisms from ships' ballast water by observing current IMO voluntary guidelines on ballast water management
- To help these countries to prepare for the implementation of the anticipated IMO mandatory regime.
Global shipping moves over 80% of the world's commodities and transfers an estimated 12 billion tons of ballast water each year. It is thought that around 4500 species are carried around the world in ballast tanks at any one time and that a marine species invades a new environment every nine weeks! While ballast water is absolutely essential to the safe operation of a ship—providing balance and stability to an unladen vessel—every drop could be a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
Through the development of larger and faster ships, combined with rapidly increasing world trade, natural barriers to the dispersal of species across the oceans are being reduced, and the danger of transferring harmful organisms in a viable form through ballast water is continuously increasing. The introduction of invasive marine species has been identified by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as one of the four greatest threats to the marine environment. (The other three include land-based pollution, overexploitation of marine resources, and physical destruction of marine habitat.)
International teamwork
GloBallast is a cooperative initiative of GEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and IMO. To oversee the project, a three-person Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) was set up at IMO headquarters in March 2000. Country Focal Points and their Assistants were also established in each of the six pilot countries: Brazil, China, India, Iran, South Africa, and Ukraine. Overall guidance for the project is provided by a Global Task Force, which includes representatives of GEF, UNDP, IMO, the six participating countries, major shipping concerns, and leading nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Funding for the project was provided by GEF through UNDP. Of a budget of $10.2 million, $7.4 million is provided by GEF and the rest is contributed by the six participating countries.
The project hopes to raise awareness of the potential adverse effects of ballast water on biodiversity by targeting different sectors of society, such as government officials, ships' crews, and shore personnel. It produces a free-of-charge quarterly newsletter called Ballast Water News, which enjoys a subscription rate of nearly a thousand readers in addition to the fourteen thousand copies that are sent with IMO News. The PCU also maintains a dedicated web site, which includes searchable databases on ballast water treatment R&D projects and on the project's extensive library collection.
In March 2001, the PCU scheduled a ballast water treatment R&D symposium and workshop at IMO headquarters in London, probably the first ever forum of the scientific community on the issue of ballast water treatment methods. The outcome of the workshop will be submitted to the Ballast Water Working Group during the 46th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee for consideration by the IMO Member States in their endeavors to adopt a new international instrument to regulate this issue.
In the pilot countries, GloBallast will carry out risk assessments and port baseline surveys at each of the demonstration sites. It will conduct training of port and shipping personnel in the implementation of IMO ballast water management guidelines and will work with the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden and national legal advisors to review legislation and regulations relating to ballast water management in each of the six pilot countries. GloBallast will also provide financial assistance for the inception meeting of regional task forces, as the six pilot countries replicate their activities in their regions.
Meanwhile, there is good reason to look optimistically at the future, due to the commitment of the member states to deal with this issue. It is hoped that this program will succeed in minimizing the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens.
|
GloBallast is set for completion in 2003, but IMO has
made a commitment to continue to assist its Member
States after the life of the program.
____________
Dandu Pughiuc,
based in London, is Chief Technical Advisor of GloBallast.
Click here for IMO's GloBallast web site.
