TITLE:
Harmonizing the Marine Environmental Governance Framework to Combat Marine Oil Pollution within the Western Indian Ocean Region
AUTHORS:
Faith Sulwe, Paul Musili Wambua, Akunga Nebat Momanyi
KEYWORDS:
Marine Oil Pollution, Nairobi Convention, Western Indian Ocean, Marine Environmental Governance, Harmonization, Oil Spill Preparedness and Response
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
24,
2026
ABSTRACT: The oceans, as critical components of the Earth’s ecosystem, provide vital resources, including food security, economic and cultural interest to both coastal and non-coastal communities. However, the oceans and the marine environment face serious pollution and degradation problems, including oil pollution. There is a need for states within the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region to work harmoniously with one another to combat marine oil pollution as a transboundary problem. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the 1982 UNCLOS), as the “umbrella” convention for the protection of the marine environment, lays foundation for institutions like International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to develop specific conventions providing general obligations for States in combating marine oil pollution. The nature of the oceans’ resources requires harmonization of governance frameworks to effectively combat oil pollution, which threatens these shared resources. States have varying national laws which must be harmonized with the regional international laws to bring certainty and uniformity in enforcements and compliance. The Nairobi Convention (amended 2010), through its legal and institutional framework, provides platform for regional collaboration. It requires States to harmonize regional and national laws to simplify the governance framework for responding to marine oil pollution incidents. There is a need to interrogate effectiveness of the attempted harmonization of governance frameworks and how to address gaps within the WIO region. These gaps include lack of binding enforcement mechanisms, disparities in national implementation capacities, fragmented implementation, funding constraints and limited integration with the current global frameworks.