2015-12-09
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In partnership with the European Union-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Project, the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e Recursos Naturais Renováveis - IBAMA [Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources] carried out the “Brazil-European Union Seminar on National Contingency Plans for Oil Pollution Incidents”, from September 29 to October 1st, in Brasília. The event opening was attended by the Cooperation Attaché of the European Union Delegation to Brazil (DELBRA), Asier Santillan; the National Director of the European Union-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Project, Marcelo Torres; the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), Francisco Gaetani; and IBAMA President, Marilene Ramos.
European Union specialists and Brazilian government officials participated in the seminar, which addressed national emergency plans for each country, with a focus on the use of techniques such as dispersants and the controlled burning of oil. Second on the seminar agenda was a discussion and comparison of the European and the Brazilian plans. This discussion also included an opportunity to learn about the good practices implemented by each government.
“The seminar opened up possibilities for cooperative work between Brazil and the European Union, not only with IBAMA, but with other institutions participating in the National Contingency Plan for Oil Pollution Incidents (PNC)”, stated Fernanda Pirillo Inojosa, a speaker at the event and General Coordinator for Environmental Emergencies of the IBAMA Directorate for Environmental Protection. In her opinion, the meeting enabled IBAMA to establish a working plan, so that the National Contingency Plan becomes a fast and effective instrument in the effort to prevent accidents.
Mission to Europe
Aiming at supporting the National Contingency Plan, in September, the European Union-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Project also sponsored a mission to Europe for IBAMA and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais – INPE [National Institute for Space Research] officials. The Brazilian delegation was comprised of: Leila Fonseca, INPE General Coordinator for Earth Observation; Luciano Ponzi Pezzi, Associate Researcher for the Office of the General Coordinator for Earth Observation; and Claudio Azevedo Dupas, Coordinator of the Center for Geoprocessing and Environmental Monitoring of the IBAMA Office in the State of São Paulo.
The mission visited the following countries and institutions: In Lisbon, Portugal – the European Maritime Safety Agency, EMSA and Edisoft, a company that provides data regarding oil spills at sea to EMSA; in Frascati, Italy – the European Space Agency, ESA. The visits focused mainly on learning about tools and technologies developed by the European Union which could support the implementation of the Brazilian system for the environmental monitoring of oil spills (Sisnóleo).
According to Claudio Azevedo, currently, the Brazilian government depends on communication from polluting companies to learn of oil spills in territorial waters. However, it has been noted that not all incidents of this nature are reported. The European Union, on the other hand, relies on independent monitoring systems to detect suspicious characteristics in sea water and can activate its contingency structures even before being informed by the agent/company responsible for the pollution. This quick response time increases the possibility of minimizing environmental impacts and ensures governmental action in the absence or impossibility of communication.
“The mission has already achieved some results, such as the systematic supply of images from ESA’s Sentinel-1A satellite to the project’s area of interest, which comprises the Santos, Campos and Espírito Santos basins, as well as the Pre-Salt polygon. Discussions regarding the establishment of technical cooperation between Brazil and the European Union in this area of knowledge have also taken place. Additionally, a technical cooperation project between INPE and IBAMA for the development and implementation of Sisnóleo [Information System on Oil-related Pollution Incidents in Brazilian Territorial Waters] is expected to be signed soon”, said Claudio Azevedo.
Background
The National Contingency Plan action is the continuation of the action which dealt with the implementation of the aforesaid plan during the 7th Call for the Sector Dialogue Support Project. At that time, IBAMA carried out a mission to Portugal and Finland, which made it possible to establish interpersonal contact between Brazilian and European public officials and resulted in negotiations for the purpose of executing cooperation agreements among the countries involved in the area of environment protection.
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