Marine Pollution Emergency Response training in Maldives under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme
By Sarah Valenti and Bethany Graves
Our latest blog post highlights marine pollution emergency response training being delivered this week in the Maldives as part of our work under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP).
Participants at a previous OCPP training event in the Maldives (photograph © OCPP).
JNCC staff, along with colleagues from Cefas, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Ambipar UK are delivering capacity building sessions on emergency response to marine pollution incidents in the Maldives this week, as part of our work under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP). This initiative is being delivered in partnership with the Maldives Environmental Protection Agency. The OCPP is a UK Government led programme, delivered under the Blue Planet Fund, which partners with in-country organisations and provides technical assistance to deliver tangible and positive impacts on the livelihoods of coastal communities that depend on healthy marine ecosystems.
The training, which runs from 16 February to 20 February, is designed to strengthen capabilities to respond to marine pollution emergencies. Approximately 50 stakeholders in total are attending the training across 5 days, from key organisations involved in marine pollution response such as Fisheries Ministry, the Coastguard and Environment Ministry. We are also welcoming key colleagues from relevant Sri Lankan ministries to encourage mutual aid and cross-border cooperation.
The training week begins with two and a half days of expert technical training on fate and transport modelling for marine pollutants. The third day is focussed on contingency planning and response to marine pollution incidents, with sessions covering preparedness to respond to spills, dispersants and regulations governing their use, risks and resources, as well as readiness to respond and understanding any gaps in response capacity and environmental impacts.
On the fourth day, trainees will undertake a simulated practical tabletop exercise on all aspects of emergency response, taking participants through identifying resources at risk, offshore response, shoreline response, community support and post-spill monitoring, waste management, communications and media, and finally ecosystem restoration.
The final day of the training focusses on hydrography and bathymetry, to understand methods of monitoring, data collection and plume modelling, as well as fate impacts, and on sand mining and dredging, including the fate, impacts, monitoring and mitigations for sand mining.
The training equips participants with the skills, knowledge and confidence to understand the potential impacts of marine pollution incidents, and to respond effectively to such incidents. The course will enhance the Maldives and Sri Lanka’s current action to sustainably manage and protect the marine environment, benefitting the local communities that rely on these coastal ecosystems.
Bilateral partnerships under the OCPP are primarily delivered by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Cefas), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
For further information about our work in Maldives under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme, visit our OCPP Maldives webpage.
For further information about our work on Emergency Response under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme, visit our OCPP Emergency Response webpage.