EUROWA promoted at West, Central and Southern Africa webinar

Sea Alarm, as Secretariat for EUROWA, and the Wildlife Rescue Centre Ostend (WRCO) raised international awareness of the EUROWA network at a Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) webinar.

Christophe Blazy, presenting for Sea Alarm, gave an overview on Oiled Wildlife Preparedness and Response, highlighting the risk of oil spills in the WACAF region that can greatly impact the marine environment and biodiversity. He also stressed the need for countries to invest in preparedness at the national level to help mitigate the effects of oil on wildlife. Christophe outlined tools, best practices and available resources for oiled wildlife response, including expert networks from EUROWA and the Global Oiled Wildlife Response System (GOWRS) that can bring their support during incidents.

The Wildlife Rescue Centre Ostend (WRCO) and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) also delivered a presentation on other aspects of oiled wildlife response including experience gained during a cross-border response to rescue oiled wildlife between Namibia and South Africa.

This was a great opportunity to promote the EUROWA network and its activities to a wide international audience, as the webinar was delivered in French and English to a total of 187 participants from GI-WACAF countries and globally.

You can watch the webinar in French and in English.