Continuing our partnership with REMPEC

We are pleased to announce that our MoU with the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) has been extended for a further two years.

The MoU was first signed between our organisations in 2011 and provides for the inclusion of Sea Alarm in the Mediterranean Assistance Unit. Via that mechanism, which REMPEC can activate under the Barcelona Convention on the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea (Barcelona Convention), Mediterranean countries can call on Sea Alarm to provide wildlife response assistance during a pollution emergency. With the MoU, REMPEC and Sea Alarm also aim to assist Contracting Parties to the Convention in developing their oiled wildlife preparedness through planning, training and capacity building activities.

Over the years, the two organisations have collaborated on a number of projects where this technical assistance has been developed and shared with Mediterranean countries. These efforts include the POSOW project which developed volunteer oiled wildlife training materials and continues to provide input on wildlife issues to the national contingency plans of Contracting Parties, and bringing technical guidance on wildlife response into the framework of the WestMOPoCo project. Sea Alarm regularly participates in REMPEC Focal Point Meetings to inform Contracting Parties about recent developments in oiled wildlife response.

Although the Covid-19 outbreak is likely to prevent us from meeting REMPEC in person this year, we are proud to be one of their long-standing partners and stand ready to assist Mediterranean countries with oiled wildlife response support. And we invite you to view REMPEC’s newly updated website for more information on their work.