Joint Shipping Initiative Funds New Phase of Anti-Piracy Project in Somalia

PR58013

LONDON, Sep. 25 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

    The Joint Shipping Initiative - made up of Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena and

Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and "K" Line - today announced it has

given $1.5 million of additional funds to a United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) project to improve the lives of Somalis and security for

seafarers.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140425/708339-a )

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140425/708339-b )

    The UNDP's "Alternative Livelihoods to Piracy in Puntland and Central

Regions of Somalia" project aims to reduce piracy off the coast of east Africa

through local economic development, job creation, training, and business

development grants on-shore in one of the world's poorest countries.

    "Development projects that provide an alternative livelihood to would-be

pirates are a vital element of the long-term solution to piracy," Dr Grahaeme

Henderson, Vice President of Shell Shipping & Maritime, said. "We have been

very encouraged by progress so far and look forward to positive results from

this new phase of work."

    A lack of jobs and legitimate business opportunities for young people helps

Somali pirate leaders to attract recruits for attacks on merchant shipping that

cost the international community billions of dollars a year.

    By offering alternative livelihood options to these youth, UNDP and the

Joint Shipping Initiative work to prevent the lure of piracy.

    "Somalia has one of the world's highest rates of youth unemployment. Nearly

67% of young people are unemployed. To reverse this reality, we work with local

authorities and community groups to identify sustainable solutions - such as

infrastructure projects, livelihoods trainings, or reintegration projects - and

tailor our support to match the need," stated UNDP Somalia Country Director

George Conway.  

    Initiated by Shell in 2013, the Joint Shipping Initiative's first donation

of $1 million helped expand the market building in Adado - a town in central

Somalia - creating hundreds of jobs for retailers and better sales options for

farmers. It also helped improve vital infrastructure, including building a road

to link the isolated Hafun peninsula with the rest of the country - a project

that generated hundreds of temporary jobs. The road also helps expand

opportunities for trade and business, increasing access to communities in the

Hafun peninsula.

    In addition, training courses in skills such as computing, plumbing,

building and clothes-making have been set up elsewhere to help young Somalis

find work, or set up businesses themselves with the help of small grants.

    Today's additional funding meets the Joint Shipping Initiative's 2012

pledge to donate a total of $2.5 million to UNDP's development efforts in

Somalia. It will allow UNDP to start work in the towns of Alula and Bargal,

near the tip of the Horn of Africa, and Balanbal in central Somalia.

    "Piracy is a global problem that takes root in limited economic

opportunities, high youth unemployment rates and poor infrastructure," Jens

Munch Lund-Nielsen, Head of Emerging Markets Projects in Group Sustainability,

Maersk, said. "The problem requires a land-based solution."

    Notes to Editors

    Joint Shipping Initiative funded programmes have already trained over 500

youth in a range of skills including building, electrical maintenance,

plumbing, computing and business, in Eyl, Gara'ad and Hafun. Over 400 business

start-up grants have also been awarded.

    'Cash for work' schemes that repair and improve local infrastructure

generate income for vulnerable young people and also contribute to local

economic and community development. Examples funded by the Joint Shipping

Initiative include improvements to tertiary roads that increase access to

markets, repairs to flood defences and the construction/repair of a vocational

training school, markets and youth facilities.

    The project to extend the market building in Adado employed 500 people

during construction and has created long-term employment opportunities for

around 200 people. The Hafun road rehabilitation project employed 540 people

during its life, with preference given to members of the community affected by

a recent cyclone. The tools provided by the project were then given to the

local authority for road maintenance and other public works.

    The Joint Shipping Initiative was recently recognised for its work against

piracy at the Seatrade Awards in April 2014 when it was awarded the Seatrade

Award for Countering Piracy.   

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