Sea Alarm Foundation has been developing projects and activities since 1999. The update below presents the Foundation's Curriculum Vitae.

Update of Activities

NB: see publications for references to reports and others, some of which are downloadable.

July 2007
Sea Alarm (Roser Gasol) gives a presentation at the 'Rehabilitation and Conservation of marine animals: sea turtles, mammals and seabirds' training module at CRAM (www.cram.es). A full session was dedicated to oiled wildlife.

Sea Alarm participates successfully in ExxonMobil's Somon Emergency Response Exercise for Sakhalin Island, Russia.

June 2007
Sea Alarm (Hugo Nijkamp and Roser Gasol) attends the 9th International Effects of Oiled on Wildlife (EOW) Conference, California. Sea Alarm gives three presentations on 'European oiled wildlife response planning, 'Training program for wildlife responders' and 'New European tools for oiled wildlife preparedness and response'. A round table discussion 'Evolution or intelligent design? Different approaches to build an oiled wildlife response organisation' also takes place, in which Sea Alarm is on the panel. Informal meetings to discuss the International Alliance and a training event for European oiled wildlife responders take place as well.

Sea Alarm participates at the Procter & Gamble Sustainable Earth Day, as part of the P&G products in environmental clean up activities booth, jointly with the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Ostend. A poster on 'International framework for oiled wildlife response' is presented.

May 2007
Steering Committee meets in London. Sea Alarm visits ITOPF office. Sea Alarm (Hugo Nijkamp) travels to Estonia to discuss oiled wildlife response planning in a round table with the Estonian authorities including oiled wildlife, 21-23 May, Tallin.
Sea Alarm Board meets in Brussels, Belgium. As of 26 April, the new members are listed as follow: Dr. Ian Robinson (IFAW), Dr. Ezio Amato (ICRAM), Mr. Claude Velter (Wildlife Rescue Centre in Ostend, Belgium) and Mr. Hans van Rooij (Smit International)

Sea Alarm (Roser Gasol) presents an oral communication entitled 'International Cooperation' at 8th Meeting of Focal Points of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC).
The Meeting examined the implementation of the programme of activities of REMPEC since the 7th Focal Points Meeting and discussed and proposed the programme of priority activities of REMPEC for 2008-2009. It was followed by a one day workshop entitled "Integration of Oil Spill Emergency Plans" organised by Mediterranean Oil Industry Group (MOIG). Further information is available on the website of REMPEC (www.rempec.org).

April 2007
Sea Alarm (Hugo Nijkamp) presents a paper entitled 'Wildlife Response – the Role of Sea Alarm in Providing Support' at SPILLCON 2007 the 11th edition of the environmental pollution prevention and response conference for the Asia Pacific, organised by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP). Further details are available at www.spillcon.com.

March 2007
Sea Alarm is organising a meeting with the leading international wildlife responders to discuss and design an international training programme for oiled wildlife responders. The meeting will be held in Southampton (UK) on 16-18 April 2007.

February 2007
Sea Alarm (Roser Gasol) travels to Norway to attend the oiled wildlife response in the aftermath of the MS server incident. Facilities were visited and meetings with the different stakeholders involved in the response were held.

Finns and Estonians visit the Sea Alarm office after attending a three weeks training course on cleaning and rehabilitation of oiled wildlife in the rehab. Centre in Ostend, Belgium.

January 2007
Sea Alarm launches a new portal site www.oiledwildlife.eu, which provides with relevant information on oiled wildlife response and preparedness.

Sea Alarm Electronic Newsletter Issue 2 is published and sent by e-mail to recipients in and outside Europe Sea Alarm attended a national oiled wildlife response plan development meeting in Netherlands, and participates in an Editing Committee that reviews new drafts of the plan.

December 2006
Sea Alarm publishes an article (Oiled wildlife response: towards professional and effective approaches details the different challenges- Hugo Nijkamp) at Cleaner Seas.

Sea Alarm chairs a meeting that was organised by the Irish Seal Sanctuary in Ireland, in which a first step was made towards the writing of a national oiled wildlife response approach to be implemented through the local response plans.

Sea Alarm attends an oiled wildlife preparedness meeting in London, UK, to discuss how a wildlife response could best be initiated.

Sea Alarm (Roser Gasol) visits the facilities of the Foundation for the Conservation and Rehabilitation for Marine Animals (CRAM) in Premià de Mar, Barcelona, Spain. The centre received a few oiled seabirds and seaturtles every year.

November 2006
Roser Gasol Escuer (Sea Alarm) makes a presentation (titled "Cooperación internacional para una respuesta efectiva en la atención de fauna petroleada") at the Iberian Seminar on Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres organised by GREFA, Madrid, Spain. As a side event of the Seminar, a Sea Alarm meeting of coastal wildlife centres takes place to discuss the state of oiled wildlife preparedness and response in Spain and Portugal and to establish some direct working relationships.

Sea Alarm organises the first meeting to train a group of European expertsaccording to internationally agreed standards of good practice with regards to oiled wildlife incident response, co-financed by the oil industry through OSRL.

Sea Alarm (Hugo Nijkamp) presents the outcomes of the three EU workshops on oiled wildlife response at the EU Management Committee on Marine Pollution.

October 2006
The EU workshop on Cleaning and Rehabilitation of Oiled Wildlife takes place at Algarve, Portugal (P). Representatives from 18 European coastal countries discussed backgrounds and principles of the cleaning and rehabilitation of oiled wildlife and identified good practices for wildlife responders. A Handbook in which the best practices are described will be developed. The workshop was organised by Zoomarine, IFAW, ICRAM and Sea Alarm, as part of a project that is co-financed by the European Commission.

September 2006
The EU workshop on European Seabird Population Impact Assessment takes place at A Coruña, Spain (SP). Representatives from 11 European coastal countries discussed best practices regarding the collection of dead oiled seabirds, necropsy, data analysis and data needed for oil spill managers. A Handbook on Seabird Population Impact Assessment will be developed. The workshop was organised by NIOZ, University A Coruña and Sea Alarm, as part of a project that is co-financed by the European Commission.

August 2006
Sea Alarm (Hugo Nijkamp) travels to the United States to visit TriState Bird Rescue and Research (TriState), Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) and International Bird Rescue and Research Centre (IBRRC) to discuss with them stronger cooperation between the US and Europe.

July 2006
Sea Alarm launches the first electronic newsletter, Issue 1. Sea Alarm Newsletter will be published three times a year.

November 2004 - present
Discussions and negotiations between Sea Alarm and the oil industry on the development of a long term programme on oiled wildlife preparedness. The discussions were finalized in September with a signed agreement. The agreed activities started October 1, 2005.

June 2006
Sea Alarm attends the OSRL Open Day and makes a series of presentations on cooperation between Sea Alarm and the OSRL/EARL Alliance.

The EU workshop on European Oiled Wildlife Response Planning takes place at CEDRE, Brest (F). Representatives from 14 European coastal countries discussed the current preparedness for oiled wildlife response in Europe and identified measures and activities that would benefit Europe's preparedness in the future. The workshop was organised by Sea Alarm, CEDRE, IFAW, ICRAM, Syke, ITOPF and OSRL as part of a project that is co-financed by the European Commission.

Sea Alarm provides a lecture on oiled wildlife response and rehabilitation at the OSRL Environmental Course, in Southampton (UK)

May 2006
Tour pour la Mer takes place and turns into a successful event in which over 270 cyclists from more than 65 teams participate. Teams mainly represent companies and organisations active in maritime shipping and related interests. The Tour seems to have achieved its main objective of raising 250,000 GBP for two charities, of which Sea Alarm is one.

Sea Alarm organises and chairs a meeting of oiled wildlife responders in Germany. Some representatives from regional and national authorities participate as observers. Main topics are harmonisation of wildlife response methodology and scenarios of oiled wildlife response.

April 2006
Sea Alarm chairs a meeting that was organised by the Irish Seal Sanctuary, bringing together leading NGO's in the field of marine wildlife conservation and response to discuss cooperation on a national oiled wildlife response plan.

Sea Alarm chairs a regular meeting of coastal centres of the Netherlands and Belgium in Ostend (B). Subjects are increased cooperation, harmonisation of methodology and wildlife response planning in the Netherlands.

March 2006
Kick off meetings take place at the office of the European Commission in Brussels, being the formal start of three European projects in which Sea Alarm will be involved this year.

Sea Alarm (Dr. Ian White) chairs the wildlife session and makes a presentation (European preparedness for oiled wildlife responses - Hugo Nijkamp) at the Interspill Conference, London

Wildlife Alliance Board meeting in London

Sea Alarm makes a presentation on the Estonian wildlife response to the IPIECA Oil Spill Working Group in London.

Sea Alarm Board meets in Rotterdam

February 2006
Sea Alarm, IFAW and RSPCA are called in to assist the response to an oiled wildlife incident in Estonia. Also experts from Project Blue Sea, Bird Protection Flandres and Royal NIOZ are mobilised.

January 2006
Sea Alarm organises and chairs a meeting of oiled wildlife responders in Germany. Some representatives from regional and national authorities participate as observers. Main topics are cooperation and response capacity.

December 2005
Sea Alarm is allowed a slot in the Sixth Meeting of the Helcom Response Group, to make a presentation on oiled wildlife response planning. The presentation is well received and the meeting agrees to further investigate the issue before the 7th meeting of the Group.

November 2005
Sea Alarm presents its activities in a course for wildlife veterinarians by the Veterinary School of Nantes (F).

November 2005
Together with the Irish Seal Sanctuary, Sea Alarm assists Fingal County Council with the organisation of a national seminar to discuss oiled wildlife response planning with other local authorities (County Councils), the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Irish Coast Guard.

March - July 2005
Sea Alarm is involved in the writing and submission of three project proposals following a Call for Proposals in the field of Accidental and Deliberate Marine Pollution.

April 2005 - pesent
Sea Alarm agrees with the coastal rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands to assist them in a process that aims to develop a structural form of cooperation on oiled wildlife response planning and preparedness amongst these centres. Meetings were held in April 2005 and November 2005. Another meeting is scheduled for January 2006. The process is increasingly involving the relevant Dutch authorities.

February 2005 - present
Sea Alarm is asked to lead discussions amongst key players in oiled wildlife response in Germany. Meetings were held in May and November 2005; another meeting is scheduled for January 2006. The meetings, organised and chaired by Sea Alarm, are increasingly attended by relevant authorities and might result in an agreed strategy or plan to respond to future oiled wildlife incidents.

March - August 2005
Sea Alarm leads the writing and production of the Project Portfolio of the International Alliance of Oiled Wildlife Responders.

August 2005
Sea Alarm participates in the Eighth Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Sea Alarm presented two papers and chaired one session.

May 2005
Sea Alarm participates in the International Oil Spill Conference, Miami.

March - April 2005
Sea Alarm participates in two BP emergency response training sessions.

March 2005
Sea Alarm (Hugo Nijkamp) becomes elected Vice-Chairman of the International Alliance of Oiled Wildlife Responders and member of the Executive Committee.

November 2004 - May 2005
Production and Publication of the Proceedings of the Third Sea Alarm Conference.

January - November 2004
As commissioned by the IPIECA Oil Spill Working Group, Sea Alarm lead the writing and production of the IPIECA Guide to Oiled Wildlife Response Planning, which was published by IPIECA as Volume 13 in their Report Series on Oil Spill Response and Preparedness, November 2004

May 2004
Together with the Irish Seal Sanctuary, Sea Alarm has organised the Third Sea Alarm Conference, which was held in Ireland, October 2004. The Conference involved over 45 delegates from 26 organisations and 8 countries and resulted in fruitful exchanges of thoughts between authorities, oiled wildlife responders and industry representatives, who jointly produced a list of recommendations, "The Balbriggan Declaration". The Conference Proceedings were published May 2005.

April - October 2004
Sea Alarm was asked to take a coordinating role in the development of an Oiled Birds Response Plan for the Belgian Coast. The project involved a project group which included all Belgian key players, including the responsible authorities, scientific institutions, wildlife responders and some NGO's. The final draft of the Plan was agreed by the project group in October 2004. June 2005, the Plan, which is integrated with the national and provincial pollution emergency response plans, was signed by two responsible Federal Ministers and the Governor of the coastal province.

March 2004
Sea Alarm has started a dialogue with Helmepa, a Greek-origin environmental NGO, set up more than 25 years ago by Greek ship owners. Both organisations have expressed their intention to seek for forms of closer cooperation in the prevention of, and response to marine oil spills.

March 2004
A workshop organised by Sea Alarm was held in Athens. The workshop, in which a dozen international oiled widllife experts participated, explored the content of the Guidelines for Oiled Wildlife Response Planning. The workshop was also attended by some Greek NGO's. Download the report, download the appendix.

January 2004
Sea Alarm started a project to develop "Guidelines for Oiled Wildlife Response Planning". The project, which is sponsored by IPIECA's Oil Spill Working Group, BP and Total, is currently underway.

September-November 2003
Sea Alarm assisted the Belgian Bird Protection League to prepare and submit a claim to P&I Club Gard, the insurance company of the Tricolor. The claim was received well, and 85% of the expenses made in the aftermath of the incident were recovered. Early 2004, the League received a total sum of €89,571 back from the P&I Club.

October 2003
A presentation was held at a Seminar in the Netherlands where the experience with the Tricolor incident was evaluated. Sea Alarm did a presentation called: "Dealing with the Tricolor incident in Belgium and The Netherlands: lessons for the future"

October 2003
Sea Alarm attends the Seventh Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference, held in Hamburg, Germany. A presentation was held called: "Recend European Oiled Wildlife Incident and the Need for European Wildlife Contingency Planning".

June 2003
Sea Alarm was invited to attend the annual meeting of the Wildlife Response Coordination Committee of SOTEAG in Shetland. This Committee is responsible for pre-spill planning of any oiled wildlife incident on Shetland. Its current response plan should be seen as an international example of accuracy. Sea Alarm explained its objective and mission to the meeting, and its current activities were discussed. Sea Alarm has been added to the phone list of the response plan, and the intention is expressed that formal links between the WRCC and Sea Alarm should be established.

June 2003
May 2003, the first Sea Alarm Newsletter has been published, sponsored by INTERTANKO. This Newsletter should become a means to inform interested parties in Europe and elsewhere about progress made in the field of oiled wildlife emergency preparedness. Anyone could contribute to the contents of the Newsletter, which will appear in print and in electronic form.

May 2003
Reports on Sea Alarm's responses to the Prestige and Tricolor incidents are published.

January-March 2003
Tricolor incident in Belgium. Sea Alarm Foundation is invited by the Belgian authorities to advice in the oiled wildlife rescue and rehabilitation operation.

November-December 2002
Prestige incident in Galicia (Spain). Sea Alarm Foundation was invited by SEO Birdlife and WWF Adena to advice on organising the oiled wildlife response. Sea Alarm's involvement was supported by ITOPF and the P&I Club and accepted by the authority in charge of the wildlife operation, the Xunta de Galicia.

October 2002
Hugo Nijkamp attends the Medmaravis Conference in Sardinia and presents "Oiled Wildlife Response: the importance of pre spill agreements and cooperation".
Board Meeting in Brussels. Erica Terpstra retires as chairperson, Jan Hoogstrate as treasurer. Alessandro Barisich, the former Head of the Civil Protection and Environmental Emergency Unit of the European Commission is installed as the new chairman.

September 2002
Financial support for different Sea Alarm projects is received. Donors are the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, The Group (cooperating P&I Clubs), Intertanko. Also the European Commission and the Marine Pollution Management Committee have positively decided upon a project proposal that was submitted by Sea Alarm.

Summer 2002
The establishment of Sea Alarm's Website on the INTERNET was made possible through a much appreciated grant by ITOPF.

April 2002
Hugo Nijkamp attends the first Board meeting of the Wildlife Alliance in Southampton.

March 2002
Presentations (poster, lecture) at the Interspill 2002 Conference: Lessons learned from the Erica, in Brest.

February - May 2002
Various proposals written and submitted in relation to the projects and activities planned for in Business Plan 2002-2005.

February 2002
Logo developed, website development (financially supported by ITOPF)

February 2002
The results from, and decisions taken at the 2001 Sea Alarm Conference have been included in the Business Plan 2002-2005. This document contains the strategic approach for implementing a set of short term activities, including their financial planning.

January 2002
Meetings have taken place with ITOPF, INTERTANKO, Steamship Mutual, IMO and IOPF in London.

December 2001
Presentation at IPIECA's Oil Spill Working Group Meeting in Martinique.

November 2001
Sea Alarm Conference 2001. Second meeting European network: consolidation of European co-operation. The Task Force Report was adopted and a list of priority actions agreed. The decisions of the Conference incorporated into Business Plan 2002-2005.

September 2001
Submission of a project proposal to Dutch Ministries: Consolidations Plans and Support Sea Alarm Foundation

May 2001
Submission of a project to the European Commission. Wildlife Contingency Planning and Co-operation concerning Marine Oil Spills in Europe.

May 2001
Presentation at Oil Spills 2001 (Lloyd's List Events): Wildlife Response After Oil Spills. Sea Alarm was an invited speaker at this conference, attended by industry and government organisations.

March 2001
Third meeting of The Alliance (Tampa, USA). Discussion on "Best practices" document (includes veterinary guidelines, oil spill preparedness facilities, operating within contingency plans, human health and safety). Discussions on how to incorporate The Alliance; an intermediate board was elected.

November 2000-March 2001
The Task Force developed a Programme of Action."Setting up Sea Alarm".
This has four strands:

1. Fundamental issues (democratic decision making, code of conduct, accreditation)
2. Representation and Strategic Alliances (how to involve industry and governmental agencies),
3. Towards international response activities (how to mobilise experts and expertise, wildlife contingency planning),
4. General activities (training, studies, developing databases).

March 2001
Board Meeting: internationalisation of Sea Alarm's Board. Discussions on Business Plan 2001.

January-February 2001
As a result of the Jessica spill, Sea Alarm Foundation sent ateam of marine mammal experts to the Galapagos Islands .

November 2000
Sea Alarm Foundation participates in the second meeting of The Alliance (Hastings, UK). Continued discussions; First steps towards a document on "best practices".

November 2000
"Pieterburen Meeting". Sea Alarm Foundation organised a meeting for representatives of the European marine wildlife stranding and rehabilitation community. First steps taken towards the establishment of a European network for oil spill response, preparedness and prevention. A Task Force is formed to draft the Programme of Action.

March 2000
Sea Alarm Foundation participated in the first meeting of experienced oiled wildlife organisations and experts (Myrtle Beach USA), in which a worldwide coalition , The International Alliance of Oiled Wildlife Responders ("The Alliance"), was formed.

March 2000
Presentation of results and recommendations from the feasibility study at the Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference (Myrtle Beach USA).

December 1999
Establishment Sea Alarm Foundation under Dutch Law.

September 1999- March 2000
Feasibility study. Interviews with e.g. IFAW, ITOPF, RSPCA, Shell, UNEP, Medicins Sans Frontières resulted in a positive response to the feasibility study. Subsequent report included recommendations on network building and first business plan.

1998-1999
Preliminary meetings in The Netherlands on how to realise the ideas of an international network of (oiled) wildlife rehabilitators. Discussions with representatives of e.g. UNEP and Shell resulted in the commissioning of a feasibility study. Early results from this study led to the decision to formally establish Sea Alarm Foundation.