|
Experts for oil spill contingency plan
meet
Accra, Aug. 20, Ghanadot/GNA -
About 40 experts in marine issues from 16 Africa countries
are meeting in Accra to fine-tune a draft sub-regional oil
spill contingency plan for preparedness and response to
major spills.
The plan, which comes in the wake of more oil discoveries
along the African coast stretching from Guinea Bissau in the
north to Angola in the south, is to help participating
nations to intervene jointly in cases of major spills either
in territorial waters of a single nation or in a
Tran-boundary spill.
The meeting is being organised under the auspices of the
Interim Guinea Current Commission in cooperation with the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the
International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation
Association (IPIECA). The United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation (UNIDO) is supporting it.
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister, Harbours and
Railways, noting the significance of the meeting, said it
was being held at a time when maritime safety and the
protection of the marine environment were receiving renewed
attention and active support from all countries.
He said the plan would help all the partners share their
limited resources in joint efforts to address incidents of
pollution as well as provide a synergy that would lead to
rapid response.
Captain Aaron Obeng Turkson, Rector of the Regional Maritime
Academy, appealed to the participants not to let the plans
sit on shelves in their various countries but they should
engage in occasional drills.
"In spite of the best preventive measure, the unexpected can
and does happen," he said.
It was therefore imperative that all effective steps were
taken to put in place strategies capable of minimizing the
consequences, should the worst occur, he added.
Capt. Turkson said contingency plans that anticipated
pollution incidents were now regarded as critical components
of the due diligence process that nations and regions could
not ignore.
He said lessons have shown that even with contingency plans
there were still difficulties in dealing with major
pollution incidents if they did occur, hence the need for
all to be on the alert at all times.
Capt. Turkson expressed the hope that the participants with
their varied work experience and academic background would
bring along a broad range of experience to bear on the
strategies that would be developed at the forum.
"I believe that our ability to demonstrate our awareness of
the reality of the risks involved in major pollution
incidents must be formalized through some legal
framework/agreement with an absolute requirement of a
contingency plan and an arrangement on cooperation."
Mr. Malamine Thiam, technical officer, IMO, said the region
was currently susceptible to major pollution from the
petroleum exploration taking place offshore, hence the need
for the contingency plan.
"This meeting would enable us to formalize the project to be
presented to the governments of the various countries for
adoption," he said.
Dr. Chika Ukwe, Project Manager, UNIDO, pledged UNIDO's
support for the contingency plan if adopted.
The meeting is under the theme: "The IGCC/UNIDO/IMO/IPIECA
Second Meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on
Development of Sub-Regional Contingency Plans and
Sub-Regional Agreement for Co-operation in Cases of Major
Marine Pollution Incidents".
GNA
|
