HONOLULU – U.S. Coast Guard personnel from the Marine Environmental Response Regional Activity Center (MER-RAC) and District 14 Response Advisory Team participated in a marine pollution incident workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands, Oct. 8-11.
During the four-day workshop, Coast Guard personnel worked with representatives from various Pacific Island nations, regional organizations, and international partners, including the British High Commission, to discuss strategies for enhancing preparedness, response, and recovery efforts in the event of marine pollution incidents.
The Ocean Country Partnership Programme hosted the workshop in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme.
“Key stakeholders came together this week to collaborate and prepare for marine pollution emergencies in the Pacific,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Shannon McGregor, environmental specialist, Coast Guard District 14 Response Advisory Team. “The workshop also highlighted the importance of protecting indigenous culture and heritage during and after marine pollution incidents.”
Delegates from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Kiribati, Australia, Samoa, and the U.S. discussed a range of topics, including implementing national marine pollution contingency plans and authorities, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, enhancing regional cooperation and coordination in response efforts, improving access to equipment, resources, and training, strengthening communication and information sharing, and promoting overall environmental awareness and public education.
The workshop concluded with a tabletop exercise wherein all participating nations and agencies collaborated to simulate a marine pollution scenario and the roles and responsibilities of all the players.
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