Prevention and Preparedness for Marine Pollution at Sea and on Shore

Topic description

Objective:

Topic: Prevention and Preparedness for Marine Pollution At Sea and On Shore

Over the past decades, regional, EU and international regulatory framework, preventive measures and technical cooperation helped to decrease the rates of marine and coastal pollution. However, such environmental risks from shipping or offshore accidents and from illegal discharges, cannot be completely eliminated. Moreover, as experienced in the past years, those risks have become more complex in terms of variety of pollutants and uncertainties about their impact, behaviour, as well as effectiveness of available recovery measures. They call for an increased operational knowledge and capability and for a more coordinated and holistic approach to marine pollution incident management at sea and on shore among different sectors involved.

This topic aims to enhance prevention of and protection from the effects of maritime disasters.

Applicants are invited to focus on one of the following call priorities (specific objectives):

Priority 1: Developing response capacity for marine pollution incidents

Increasing complexity of maritime risks due to changes in maritime transport, fuels and hazardous cargos, requires a review and step-up of the capacity of responders as well as improved monitoring, detection and response tools to different pollutants. It is important that such capacity development takes into account a variety of pressures for marine environment and their current management, and aims towards more flexible and versatile capabilities that can serve across multiple areas.

Priority 2: Enhancing regional and cross-sectoral coordination

European regional coordination in the area of marine pollution disaster risk management is mainly built and undertaken in the Regional Sea Conventions, to most of which EU is a Contracting Party. Therefore, this call particularly supports strategic prevention and preparedness goals and actions endorsed or initiated under these Conventions, when regional resources are not sufficient for their implementation. Furthermore, the ongoing regional work does not always sufficiently involve other relevant sectors, leaving room for fragmentation or lack of coordination. The call aims to address these gaps.

Activities that can be funded

Under Priority 1, this Call for Proposals will co-finance activities that aim to increase capacity of responders, including development of advanced methodologies supporting training and exercises as well as improving technology and tools for better monitoring, detection and response to at-sea and coastal pollution. Such tools and methodologies should take into account different response functions and their interactions, integrate lessons identified in incidents and exercises and support recent or new strategic initiatives undertaken at European or regional level.

Under Priority 2, this Call will co-finance activities that aim to strengthen joint prevention and preparedness actions within the European regional sea areas as well as inter-regional initiatives when more efficiency or effectiveness can be achieved. The call will also co-finance activities aiming to strengthen operational links between at-sea and shoreline pollution responders as well as other relevant sectors for a more integrated and coordinated approach.

Priority 1: Developing response capacity for marine pollution incidents

Project activities and outputs should lead to the development of up to two (2) of the following outcomes:

1.1 Advanced training and/or exercising capacities are developed;

1.2 System(s) or methods for detection of and response to various pollutants are developed or improved;

1.3 Innovative response capacities are tested through exercises.

Examples of project outputs to be funded include, among others:

• Advanced training technologies or methodologies for a sound assessment and recovery of various pollutants at-sea and on shore;
• Interactive pollutant simulation tool enabling comparison of different response strategies at-sea and on-shore taking into account relevant parameters;
• Innovative systems and tools for detecting and recovering oil or other harmful substances;
• Trainings and small-scale exercises aimed at testing innovative disaster preparedness approaches, methodologies and tools.

Priority 2: Enhancing regional and cross-sectorial coordination

Project activities and outputs should lead to the development of up to two (2) of the following outcomes:

2.1 Coordination within or between European regional sea conventions is enhanced;

2.2 Communication and operational coordination between at-sea and shoreline preparedness and response is enhanced;

2.3 A (sub-)regional approach to significant acute pollution, in particular with regard to spill impact/effect monitoring and assessment is established.

Examples of project outputs to be funded include, among others:

• Development or upgrade of regional/inter-regional anti-pollution manuals, guidelines, approaches or procedures, closely linked with the European policies and crises management systems and tools;
• Joint at-sea/on-shore response plans, taking into account European and international good practice and experience;
• Joint at-sea/on-shore trainings and small scale exercises;
• Integration of at-sea/on-shore operational and communication systems;
• Data collection/analysis, sensitivity maps, feasibility studies and other science-based tools in support of regional and cross-sectorial coordination;
• Common operational approaches, strategies or procedures for monitoring, assessment and reporting of pollution or its impact.