Sea Alarm participates in successful GI WACAF webinar

In July 2021, Sea Alarm and collaborators from Belgium and South Africa delivered presentations on oiled wildlife response at a webinar organised as part of the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI-WACAF) webinar series. Christophe Blazy, presenting for Sea Alarm, gave an overview on Oiled Wildlife Preparedness and Response, highlighting the risk of oil spills in the GI-WACAF region that can greatly impact the marine environment and biodiversity. He also stressed the need for countries to invest in preparedness and planning at the national level to help mitigate the effects of oil on wildlife. Christophe outlined tools, best practices and available resources for oiled wildlife response, including expert networks EUropean Oiled Wildlife Assistance (EUROWA) and the Global Oiled Wildlife Response System (GOWRS) that can bring their support during incidents. Wildlife Rescue Centre Ostend (WRCO) also participated and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) delivered a presentation on other aspects of oiled wildlife response, including experience gained during a cross-border response between in Namibia and South Africa to rescue oiled wildlife. The webinar was delivered in French and English to a total of 187 participants from GI-WACAF countries and globally. Through their questions the participants showed a high interest to consider the wildlife issue further in future. Watch the webinar in French or English.