Failing to prepare is preparing to fail say emergency responders, their clients and employers. It goes without saying that this is also true for the field of wildlife response and for Sea Alarm as an organisation. What does preparedness for wildlife response mean, and what did we do contribute to the use of good practices in response and preparedness?

The ability to make a positive contribution in a response to an oiled wildlife emergency has always been a key objective in our work. In our 20 years we have responded to quite a few incidents in different countries under many different circumstances. This article will revisit some of these incidents to share what we’ve learned and to explain why real-time incidents have always been the main driver of our preparedness work.

In our last 20-year anniversary article (Part 1) we introduced the importance of networking, the role Sea Alarm has had in initiating and coordinating NGO Response networks and reviewed the history of the European Network EUROWA. In Part 2, we continue the story, presenting the work of the Global Oiled Wildlife Response System (GOWRS) and some closing words on the significance of these networks, which leave the world better prepared for oiled wildlife response.