Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Capability in West, Central and Southern Africa: Sustaining momentum in a changing world of oil spill risks

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF Project) is a partnership between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and IPIECA - the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues, to enhance the capacity of countries to prepare for and respond to marine oil spills. The GI WACAF Project was launched in 2006 and is jointly funded by IMO and eight oil company members in order to strengthen national oil spill response capability in 22 countries of West, Central and Southern Africa through the establishment of local partnerships between the oil industries and the national authorities in charge of oil spill preparedness and response at the national level. This paper will describe how the GI WACAF Project cooperates with local stakeholders in order to develop a structure for preparedness and response in the region, and to detail what are the challenges lying ahead in order to make this structure fully operational taking into account the changes in the region in terms of risk profiles, industry representation and national and regional governance. The analysis of the exercises organised under the umbrella of the GI WACAF Project in Congo, Nigeria (2011), Gabon (2012), Cameroon, and Mauritania (2012) emphasises the needs in terms of international cooperation, integration of response capabilities at the national and regional levels and the development of effective incident management structures. In conclusion, we will present how the GI WACAF Project has evolved in order to maintain its momentum for the continuous development of preparedness and response capabilities in the region.