KIMO is an international association of Local Authorities, which was founded in Esbjerg, Denmark, in August 1990 to work towards cleaning up pollution in the North Sea. In 1994 it changed its remit to also include The Irish Sea, North East Atlantic and The Arctic Seas. It has over 128 members in 10 countries including the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Republic of Ireland with associate members in Germany, the Faeroes Islands and the Isle Of Man. National Networks exist in each country and hold meetings on a regular basis.
The organisation holds Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) status at the North Sea Ministerial Conferences, the Committee of North Sea Senior Officials (CONSSO) the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) (as part of the WWF Delegation). It has links with the European Parliament and Commission and sends representatives to various stakeholder dialogue processes in various countries.