NATPOLREX: Oil Spill Preparedness Exercise

NATPOLREX’s full form National Level Pollution Response Exercise. Natpolrex is organised by the Indian Coast Guard. This service has been in practice since 2009 and this year (2022) it was conducted in Goa for two days. The main objective of natpolrex is to enhance the response capability of the stakeholders in marine spills. Like in the Indian ocean whenever a tank is passing through and if there is an accident then the oil spills into the ocean and affects the marine life of that area. So to reduce the impact of spills and to conserve the marine environment natpolrex is organised.

How NATPOLREX Is Organised

Natpolrex is organised by the Indian Coast Guard. There are some guidelines under the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme. To fulfil these guidelines this Natpolrex is organised. One more plan is called the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan which is run by the Indian government. 

These programs are run by the Indian government at the national and regional levels to protect and conserve the marine culture of the country. 

What Is SACEP 

SACEP is an intergovernmental organisation that was established in 1982. It was organised by all the nations of South Asia. The main aim of the SACEP is to promote environmental programmes in South Asia. This organisation makes sure that nothing bad is happening to the marine environment and reduces the spillage of oil into the seawater. 

India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are members of the SACEP organisation. Natpolrex programmes are run in these countries to conserve marine life. Many guard ships go on rounds and perform NATPOLREX for the decided days. NATPOLREX is very good and is practised by these countries every year to protect their marine environment.

What Is The Indian Coast Guard

Indian Coast Guard is an independent organisation and it was established in 1978. The main office of the Indian Coast Guard is in New Delhi. Indian Coast Guards are responsible for maintaining the oil spillage matters and also handle many other things like rescuing in the time of war.

Natpolrex is also conducted by the Indian Coast Guard and it is of mainly two days in which they protect the marine environment of the country. International Organisations come together and perform NATPOLREX in their respective countries. 

Importance Of NATPOLREX

There are many advantages of the NATPOLREX programme and some of the advantages are mentioned below:

Pollution Control

By practising NATPOLREX pollution is checked and required measures are taken to reduce it to protect the marine life of the sea. This way our country will be able to protect the aquatic animals that usually die and get harmed due to the oil spillage in the water. 

Pollution by oil spillage is very harmful to aquatic life because various marine creatures are not able to breathe properly when oil gets mixed with water. So many marine animals die because of this issue. This is why NATPOLREX is important because conservation of aquatic life is a must and should be done by every country. 

General Awareness

People get to know more about what measures the government takes to protect the marine environment of the country. This way people receive awareness by watching these programmes and also try to contribute their part by not making any pollution around the marine bodies of their country. 

People often throw garbage at the sea and don’t feel guilty about it but with this programme, people often feel a sense of responsibility towards nature and their country. This is why they support this programme and spread the word in society so that other people may also know about it. 

Benefit To The World

When a country practices NATPOLREX in its marine environment then not only that country is getting benefited but also the whole world is somehow getting benefited from it. So this is a good step in resolving the marine environment of the world. This way aquatic animals are safe and rare species under the water are not going extinct that fast. 

Because someone has to take care of the oil spill to control them otherwise one-day whole marine life will vanish. So, this programme benefits the world to protect the marine environment and lets the world explore more species in the marine environment. 

Recognition Of NATPOLREX 

Even though NATPOLREX has been in practice since 2009. And this year’s NATPOLREX just got finished and it lasted for two days. This programme is getting recognized by many other non-South Asian countries because of its advantages. By following this programme the marine environment does get protected. 

Conclusion

This was all about the NATPOLREX programme and how they are organised every year by the Indian Coast Guard. People who are less aware of these programs and want to know more about them can refer to this article. In conclusion, it will be right to say that this programme is performed by different countries to preserve their marine environment and it does provide notable advantages for aquatic life. This programme protects the aquatic life of the sea that eventually saves the animals inside the sea.