Date: 7-8 July, 2015
Venue: Regional Academy of Maritime Science and Technology – Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
According to the willingness of MARENDA to establish collaboration links with existing universities and academies in West and Central Africa, the workshop was organized in close cooperation with ” Académie Régionale des Sciences et Techniques de la Mer ” (ARSTM) in Abidjan, 7 – 8 July 2015.
Objectives of the workshop
- Analyse current situation of emergency response and contingency planning in the pilot countries and advance on improving collaboration at national and regional level.
- Present successful examples of regional collaboration agreements on emergency response and explore possibilities for bi/multilateral agreements on oil spill response and preparedness in the project pilot countries.
- Familiarize participants with MARENDAGIS tool which serves to manage information on oil spill response equipment.
- Familiarize participants with the capacity building programme (CBP) of MARENDA focused on improving emergency response mechanisms.
- Work out contents of specific programme for the training on the job (ToJ) included in the Capacity Building Programme (CBP)
Conclusions of the workshop
The Workshop provided an excellent meeting point for key organizations of the five priority countries to exchange information about the situation regarding contingency plans and emergency response.
The key components of MARENDA action plans related to the capacity building programme and technical assistance were reviewed by the country delegations and an agreed list of specific issues to be covered was drawn. Focal points were identified as well as tentative venues for training activities. The importance of building up a GIS database of resources for emergency response is shared by all the participants.
The need of establishing bilateral or multilateral agreements for a more efficient response against maritime pollution is shared by the participants, Examples of successful bilateral agreements were presented and discussed. A road map for providing technical assistance to the priority countries on setting up bi or multilateral agreements was presented and agreed.