It is now nearly 10 years since Namibia’s 1st National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was approved by Cabinet, giving effect to Namibia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 and the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990.
Namibia had to review its marine pollution preparedness and response system in order to make it more responsive to the prevailing risk scenarios and align it to international best practices. This included completely revising the oil-focused NOSCP and renaming it the National Marine Pollution Contingency Plan (NMPCP) which makes provision for HNS in line with the Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to Pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances, 2000.
This new National Plan espouses a sustainable funding model while recognising the need to develop and maintain a shared responsibility, and the commitment of all stakeholders in order to provide effective marine pollution prevention, preparedness and response services in Namibia, the region and internationally.
