Fifteen scientists, researchers and experts working in the fields of oceanography and coastal management from Malta, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Montenegro, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Malta, recently took part in a local training course entitled 'Ocean Governance for the Mediterranean and Eastern European countries - Towards a Holistic Maritime Policy'.
The University of Malta accredited course was organised by the Birkirkara-based International Ocean Institute - Malta Operational Centre (IOI-Malta), under the aegis of the International Ocean Institute. This annual five-week intensive international course, which was held in Malta for the third year running, is aimed at participants from countries bordering the Mediterranean, Black, Baltic and Caspian seas, which are all geographically enclosed or semi-enclosed and potentially subject to national maritime zones in their entirety. Their fragile ecosystems and biodiversity are put under individual and cumulative pressure by their coastal states.
As a result, the activities and maritime policies of one state are bound to affect the quality of neighbouring states' marine environment. Also, these seas have different levels of experience in regional environmental co-operation and maritime use and the diversity of experience provided an opportunity for comparative learning.
A main focus of this year's course was regional co-operation promoted by the EU's maritime policy and the extent to which neighbouring states' policies are aligned with it. The course included a two-day public seminar on evolving EU maritime policy and the proposed action plan, which reviewed the policy's aims, objectives and underlying principles together with the EU green paper consultation process.
It tackled the institutional mechanisms and sectoral responses necessary to achieve the policy, and the mechanism needed to better syncronise neighbouring countries' maritime policy. The evolving EU maritime policy's regional and international impact together with its implications for small island jurisdictions were also addressed.
The course also dealt with the maritime affairs within the context of the EU's Lisbon Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals and the building of a holistic and integrated maritime policy following the principles enshrined in the United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea.
Participants learnt about the linkages between the natural, social and economic sciences and the development of sustainable ocean governance, and the research-management interface needed to render governance operable, the inter-linkages of multi-disciplinary inputs, and the way technology can help support the effective ocean management and sustainable development.
For further information on the course view http://capemalta.net/ioimoc/course2007 or contact IOI-Malta director Aldo Drago on tel: 2144 0972 or e-mail: aldo.drago@um.edu.mt.
The IOI-Malta carries out research and provides services in physical oceanography. It aims to promote education and training in the sustainable use of ocean resources. For more information on its activities, view its Website www.capemalta.net.