Advocacy

In principle, all coastal countries with maritime activities are at risk of an oiled wildlife incident and should seek to establish an appropriate level of preparedness proportionate to that risk. Sea Alarm dedicates a considerable amount of time making authorities and other stakeholders aware of this message and assisting them to develop international instruments to be better prepared. This has led to many positive changes at the national and international level. In Europe, it has encouraged and inspired international processes which are increasing stakeholder awareness of the need to prepare for oiled wildlife incidents.

Many organisations are supportive of our mission and where possible provide assistance and technical support, for example:
  • European Commission
  • Secretariats and executive bodies of the European regional conventions
  • International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds)
  • International Petroleum Industry Environment Conservation Association (IPIECA)
  • Maritime Insurers (Protection and Indemnity, or P&I Clubs)
  • International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF)
  • Oil industry via Oil Spill Response Limited.
  • International experts in pollution (e.g. Cedre)
  • Wildlife responders (scientists, rehabilitators) with international experience and high professional standards
  • International NGO’s such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
  • Authorities from several EU countries.
Sea Alarm aims to work closely with these bodies, who have contributed over the years to improving the quality of Sea Alarm’s message and assisted with the development of tools and instruments.

Regional Agreements

In Europe, countries bordering three different regional seas have established regional agreements, e.g.:

  • Bonn Agreement (North Sea States)
  • HELCOM (Baltic Sea States)
  • Barcelona Convention (Mediterranean Sea States).
Sea Alarm attends the technical meetings of these bodies to present good practices and report on useful approaches and examples of practical solutions. Our involvement has led to new international instruments, tools and planning activities at regional level, which are being implemented in an increasing number of European countries. More information can be found here.

European Commission

A clear vision of how Europe can increase its level of preparedness was developed as part of a series of early European projects co-financed by the European Commission in 2006-2009. Many guidance documents were developed in these projects, including the European Oiled Wildlife Response Plan, which summarises the need and objectives for cooperation and preparedness at European level. Many activities have taken place since then that contribute to the achievement of that European vision such as the oiled wildlife preparedness policy recommendations being implemented via the Regional Agreements and the development of national plans in several countries. Today, Sea Alarm continues to promote this vision, described in the  document the Future of Oiled Wildlife Response in Europe published in 2023.

International meetings and conferences

Sea Alarm regularly addresses the issue of oiled wildlife response and preparedness at international oil spill conferences where governments, professional organisations and industry companies meet. The most important of these are the International Oil Spill Conference, Interspill and the Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference. Click here to access papers presented at these events.

Handbooks and Guidelines

Sea Alarm has been the main initiator and driving force in the development of many technical guidance documents which are instrumental in Sea Alarm’s advocacy mission. All are available under Resources.

Sea Alarm has worked with leading oiled wildife response groups in Europe to develop a range of technical guidance documents and a portfolio of training and exercises for oiled wildlife responders and response managers, through the EU co-funded EUROWA initiative.

One of Sea Alarm’s most effective and practical preparedness actions has been the development of Country Wildlife Response Profiles, which provide immediate access to comprehensive information on oiled wildlife response preparedness in coastal countries When an oil spill occurs, this database provides Sea Alarm with instant information regarding key players and the level of preparedness of national stakeholders. Using this data, Sea Alarm can advise on strategies, stakeholder engagement, equipment needs and personnel priorities for the response.

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