The overarching objective of the GI Programme is to improve and sustain the capacity of countries to protect their marine and coastal resources at risk from oil pollution, through the full implementation of requirements in OPRC 1990.
Aligned to the GI Programme, GISEA focuses on strengthening the six elements of preparedness and response capability across the region, as listed below:
| Legislation | Promote and support the ratification and effective implementation of OPRC 1990, and in addition, the international conventions on liability and compensation. |
| Contingency Planning | Promote and support the development of effective national oil spill contingency plans and national response systems. |
| Resources | Encourage the establishment of arrangements to provide access to adequate oil spill response resources, commensurate with the level of risk. |
| Training | Support regular training of relevant stakeholders in oil spill preparedness and response, and inform new developments in the field. |
| Exercises | Support and facilitate the development and implementation of a programme of exercises for relevant stakeholders, to enhance and continually improve oil spill response capability. |
| Cooperation | Support and facilitate the development and implementation of bilateral, sub-regional and regional agreements relating to oil spill response cooperation; these will be founded upon the cooperation and collaboration, and mutual assistance between governments, industry and other relevant entities, both regionally and internationally. |
Strategic Framework, 2021-2023
The activities of GISEA are guided by a 3-year strategic framework; the last triennium spanned 2021 to 2023, during which the strategic aims were defined as follows:
| Legislation | Assist ASEAN Member States to develop or strengthen their respective national legislative and regulatory frameworks, to support accession to relevant IMO Conventions, namely, OPRC 1990; CLC 1992; FUND 1992, BUNKERS 2001; LLMC PROT 1996; and transposition to domestic laws. |
| Contingency Planning | Assist ASEAN Members States to develop or enhance their respective national oil spill contingency plans, and preparedness and response systems. |
| Training and Exercise | Assist ASEAN Member States to develop or enhance their respective national training and exercise programme. |
| Tools | Promote the use of assessment tools incorporating international good practice, to systematically evaluate preparedness across ASEAN Member States. |
| Cooperation | Support ASEAN Member States to implement the Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan (ROSCP), and encourage integration of the regional cooperation mechanism into bilateral and sub-regional arrangements. |
| Industry Membership | Enhance outreach to maintain and grow GISEA Membership to render the Project truly sustainable. |
The strategic aims for the current triennium (2024 - 26) will be published shortly.