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IPIECA attended the first regional meeting of the national authorities responsible for oil spill preparedness and response in South-East Asia, in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 26-28 February 2014, organized by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP).
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The meeting was organized to enhance regional cooperation on marine pollution preparedness and response in the SACEP region, assess the level of oil spill preparedness and responses in each country and the status of national contingency plans; as well as raise awareness of the latest developments in terms of oil spill preparedness and response around the world and establish how to strengthen partnerships with industry.
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The participating countries were Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while the industry was represented by IPIECA, the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, Oil Spill Response Limited and the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). The meeting succeeded in adopting a three-year work programme of activities. In the long-term the project aims to ensure the effective implementation of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) and the Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances (OPRC-HNS).
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IPIECA will continue monitoring progress as the project moves forward.
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Source: http://www.ipieca.org/
