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    Western Mediterranean Region Marine Oil and HNS Pollution Cooperation (West MOPoCo)

    The Project Western Mediterranean Region Marine Oil and HNS Pollution Cooperation (West MOPoCo) is funded by the European Union (EU) and supports Algeria, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia in collaboration with Monaco in strengthening their cooperation in preparing for and responding to oil and Highly Noxious Substances (HNS) marine pollution and in improving the quality and interoperability of their response capacities. 

    The Project is implemented through an inter-regional effort, including the participation of REMPEC, the Bonn Agreement and the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). The project benefits from the technical support of expert partner institutions such as the Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (Cedre), The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) and the Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA).

    The West MOPoCo project aims specifically at:

    Enhancing emergency decision-making capabilities

    • Development of a joint inter-regional HNS Response Manual
    • Update and upgrade the Maritime Integrated Decision Support Information System (MIDSIS TROCS)

    Assessing national contingency plans

    • Sub-regional and national workshops on the assessment of the level of oil spill response planning and readiness management
    • National workshops on oil spill contingency planning improvement programme

    Strengthening cooperation and national emergency procedures

    • Development of a common emergency communication system for the Mediterranean
    • Study on synergies between sub-regional and national emergency procedures in the West Mediterranean

    The Project complements existing cooperation frameworks, namely the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the WestMED Initiative, the 2002 Prevention and Emergency Protocol (Barcelona Convention), the Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2016-2021) and other established multilateral agreements.

    To discover more about the project and follow its progress visit the West MOPoCo website (www.westmopoco.rempec.org )