Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh - Phase II
IMO, acting as the executing agency, and the Ministry of Industries of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh as the national executing partner are jointly implementing a Norwegian funded project entitled "Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh – Phase II (Capacity Building)" (SENSREC‑Phase‑II) from April 2018 to July 2021. The SENSREC-Phase-II project builds on the first phase of the project (SENSREC-Phase-I), which was successfully implemented from January 2015 to March 2017.
Other international partners include the Secretariat of the BRS Conventions*, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Key Goals
The key goal of the SENSREC-Phase-II is to enhance national capacities for safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships in Bangladesh and to guide Bangladesh towards accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (the Hong Kong Convention).
Funding
The project is funded by Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, channeling finance through the Embassy of Norway to Bangladesh. The project budget is 9,720,000 Norwegian Kroner (approximately US$1.1 million), for the project. The agreement between IMO and Norway on funding support was signed on 24 November 2017.
Core Work Packages
Two core work packages form the basis of the Phase-II project.
The first focuses on building the national capacities to prepare for accession to the Hong Kong Convention, through three interconnecting activities: assessing the present situation; exploring current best practices in other ship recycling countries; and identifying recommendations and a roadmap to guide the Government of Bangladesh towards accession to the Hong Kong Convention. To date, a draft report with recommendations and a roadmap has already been prepared to take legislative and administrative measures for safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, based on the gap/needs analysis and the findings of the field study. It is expected to finalize the draft report by April 2020 considering the views and opinions of the key stakeholders of the industry.
The second work package aims at delivering targeted pilot-training activities for a variety of stakeholders in line with HKC requirements, establish a robust training management and governance system and deliver training activities developed for various stakeholders and workforces.
In addition, two training workshops supported by the Secretariat of BRS Convention addressing the downstream waste management in the ship recycling industry have already been held, one in Dhaka and one in Chattogram, with the participation of key stakeholders of the industry.
Trainers Pool
In addition, the Train-the-Trainer (TTT) courses have been accomplished from September to November 2019, and 200 participants have been trained to form a "Trainers Pool".
This "Trainers Pool" is envisaged to act as the trainers for the training of ship recycling workers under the SENSREC project as well as for the in-house training courses of ship recycling yards. One of the tasks of this work package is to provide training to 700 ship recycling workers on skill development following the training modules developed under SENSREC Phase I. As of 28 February 2020, 300 workers have received 3-week training on occupational safety and health. It is expected that this training will be completed by July 2020.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a shared blueprint for prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are an urgent call for action in a global partnership. Among the SDGs, SDG 14 is central to IMO, but the work of IMO and SENSREC Phase II can also be linked to other SDGs, as can be seen below.
* Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 1989; Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, 1998; Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001