West MOPoCo Main Results
About West MOPoCo
The Project Western Mediterranean Region Marine Oil and HNS Pollution Cooperation (West MOPoCo) supported Algeria, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia in collaboration with Monaco in strengthening their cooperation in the field of preparedness for and response to oil and Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) marine pollution and in improving the quality and interoperability of their response capacities.
West MOPoCo was co-financed by the Union Civil Protection Mechanism from January 2019 until April 2021.
The Project was implemented through an inter-regional effort, including the participation of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), the Bonn Agreement for the Greater North Sea and its approaches and the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) for the Baltic Sea. The project benefitted from the technical support of expert partner institutions such as Cedre, ISPRA and ITOPF Ltd.
The West MOPoCo project aimed specifically at:
- Enhancing emergency decision-making capabilities;
- Assessing national contingency plans;
- Strengthening cooperation and national emergency procedures.
You can access the detailed project objectives and activities here
The Project complemented existing cooperation frameworks, namely the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the WestMED Initiative, the 2002 Prevention and Emergency Protocol (Barcelona Convention), the Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2016-2021) and other established multilateral agreements.
West MOPoCo Main Results
You can find all the project results and feedback from the partners in West MOPoCo Layperson's Report (May 2021)
Enhancing decision-making capacities in Hazardous and Noxious Substances preparedness and response
Marine HNS Response Manual - Inter-regional Bonn Agreement, HELCOM, REMPEC
The HNS Manual was developed by CEDRE, ISPRA and ITOPF Ltd. in close consultation with the member countries of the Barcelona Convention, Bonn Agreement and Helsinki Convention. The result is a comprehensive operational guidance for first responders and decision makers on marine incidents involving HNS, for both preparedness and response phases and includes exclusive information on new, empirically tested chemicals. The Inter-Regional Manual includes specific annexes for the Mediterranean, Baltic and Greater North Sea and its approaches.
- Download the Multi-regional Marine HNS Response Manual – Interactive version in English
- Download the Multi-regional Marine HNS Response Manual – Full document in English
The French versions will soon be available here.
MIDSIS TROCS 4.0
REMPEC’s Maritime Integrated Decision Support Information System Transport of Chemical Substances MIDSIS TROCS is a free and publicly available tool that aims to facilitate decision making in case of Chemical spill.
- You can access the upgraded and updated version of the tool in English on MIDSIS TROCS website.
The assessment of the level of oil spill preparedness and improvement programme
One of the objectives of West MOPoCo is to allow Western Mediterranean coastal States to assess their national level of oil spill response planning and readiness capacities. The Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL)’s Readiness Evaluation Tool for Oil Spills (RETOS ™), developed in the framework of UN Environment’s Caribbean Environment Programme, was used in the region to assess national contingency plans.
Strengthening Cooperation and Emergency Procedures
Manuals on the national mechanism for the mobilization of equipment and expertise
The West MOPoCo partners developed a common template to support the project Beneficiary countries in the completion of manuals on national mechanisms for the mobilisation of response equipment and experts in case of emergency, and facilitate the update of related databases or inventories.
- Download the Template of the Manual on national mechanisms for the mobilization of equipment and expertise in case of emergency (March 2020) EN FR
- Access to REMPEC Mediterranean Integrated Geographical Information System on Marine Pollution Risk Assessment and Response MEDGIS-MAR database and Country profiles
Feasibility Study on Synergies between the three sub-regional agreements and contingency plans in the West Mediterranean
This Study identifies potential synergies between the LIONPLAN (2002) between France and Spain, RAMOGE Agreement (1976) and RAMOGEPOL Plan (1993) between France, Italy and Monaco, and the Southwestern Mediterranean Agreement and Plan (2005) between Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The Study provides 18 recommendations covering the legal requirements, institutional arrangements and operational procedures that could strengthen cooperation and interaction among the Western Mediterranean countries and apply to other sub-regions.
MEDEXPOL 2020
All the project results were presented and discussed during the Webinar to enhance cooperation in the Mediterranean (MEDEXPOL 2020), 27-28 October 2020.