Petroleum Africa
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Friday, May 29, 2015
Marine experts have gathered for a three-day review of a draft protocol on environmental standards for offshore oil and gas exploration in the Abidjan Convention region. The Convention provides an overarching legal framework for all marine-related programs in West, Central and Southern Africa. It covers a marine area from Mauritania to South Africa which has a coastline of just over 14,000 km.
Abou Bamba, regional coordinator for the Convention, told delegates during his opening speech that the review would “lead to an agreement” on the additional protocol to the Convention on environmental standards and guidelines for offshore oil exploitation in West, Central and Southern Africa.
He termed the meeting as “an accomplishment” of an “extremely important process” for the economies of the Abidjan Convention countries.
The Convention is aimed at protecting the environment from the significant rise in maritime traffic, fishing and oil exploration and exploitation through a collective ocean governance.
“We must conserve this natural patrimony for the benefit and use of present and future generations,” Bamba said.
“We are conscious of the dangers that poor management of our environmental resources will mean,” Estanislao Don Malavo, the Equatorial Guinean minister for fishing and the environment, said in his speech. A protocol setting the environmental standards for this and oil activity would put the countries in a better position to avoid pollution or act swiftly and effectively if spills occur.
“For this kind of issues, countries must work together; maritime environmental issues have no boundaries,” Haddijatou Jallow, executive chairperson of the Sierra Leone Environment Agency, added in her speech.
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