Innovative Partnerships > IMO-EBRD
In 2010, GloBallast and the European Bank for Reconstruction and development (EBRD) joined hands together through an innovative partnership to build ballast water management related capacity in the EBRD region. The partnership is titled IMO-EBRD Marine Biosafety Initiative (MBI) where GloBallast has agreed to provide all the training materials to conduct training courses and EBRD agreed to provide funds to organize training programmes.
The IMO-EBRD initiative uses a series of capacity building tools developed by the GloBallast Partnership Project and targets a wide spectrum of private sector stakeholders in the selected countries. This series of training courses, which kick-started in Ukraine and Russia, is thus intended to generate a catalytic effect in improving the competitiveness of the maritime and port industries that contribute significantly to the economic development of the Bank regions. Building capacity in Bank regions will also assist the Bank member countries to put in place appropriate legal and policy frameworks that will drive the compliance process and at the same time prepare the ground for investment in related infrastructure such as sediment reception facilities, shipping fleet modernisation and technology development and commercialization. The capacity building activities will also provide the private sector with the right technical and institutional skills to meet the international requirements of the countries they trade with. Most importantly, this will lead to the protection of the regional shores, coastal economies and public health from the biosecurity risks related to the transfer of harmful organisms and pathogens by ships’ ballast water and sediments.
The first phase of trainings started with the introductory trainings in Yuzhny, a major port city close to Odessa in Ukraine, followed by a training course in Russia which was held in Gelendzhik. Since the first delivery of this first phase, GloBallast developed an advanced training package aimed at the industry and operational level people engaged in ballast water issues. This package has now been utilized for the second phase trainings under the MBI in Ukraine and Russia in December 2011 and in Turkey in 2012.
EBRD, in collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV and in partnership with GloBallast, have also developed specific material for BWM Infrastructure Investment, including a guidance document, a poster and a presentation. The publications provide guidance to investment teams on BWM infrastructure and its assessment for potential inclusion in a broader financial product and assist investment teams to identify and appraise practical and viable BWM implementation measures to be incorporated into an overall Financial Investment Decision (FID).
