National Seminar on the Ballast Water Management Convention

A National Seminar on the Ballast Water Management Convention was held in Algeria between the 1 and 2 October 2013. The Seminar, which was organised by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) in close co-operation with the Ministry of Transport of Algeria was funded by IMO’s Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme (ITCP) and supported by the GEF/UNDP/IMO GloBallast Partnerships Project. REMPEC is the Regional Coordinating Organization (RCO) for the GloBallast Project in the Mediterranean.
 

This Seminar formed part of a series of similar National Seminars organised by REMPEC in the Mediterranean during the last few years. Aimed at assisting the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention with the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy on Ships’ Ballast Water Management, these capacity building activities form an integral part of UNEP-MAP’s Programme of activities approved by the 17th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, and delivered by REMPEC.  The activities are also integrated with the implementation of the global GloBallast Partnerships Project
 

The National Seminar highlighted the issue and the importance of regulating ships’ ballast water management with a view to preventing the introduction of these species in the marine environment. Participants from different Algerian national entities familiarised themselves with the provisions of the IMO International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, and exchanged views on practical aspects of the implementation of the Convention and initial preparatory action which is necessary for the eventual ratification of the Convention.