Jim Elliott is a Commander in the US Coast Guard, Arlington, VA; Bob Becker, a former Incident Command System Specialist for the Forest Service, is Director of the Office of Emergency Management for the State Department, Washington, DC; and Lauren Chitty is an Africa Program Specialist for the Forest Service, International Programs, Washington, DC.
Along Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, the
mangroves are key to life. Their
leaves provide nutrients to all
manner of aquatic species, and their thick
root networks are vital nurseries for fish
and shellfish, supporting coastal fisheries.
Mangrove roots also prevent erosion by
trapping sediments, and mangrove thickets
shelter inland areas from storm surges,
including hurricanes. Without mangroves,
many of the resources that Africans take
for granted would be gone.
Now Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea
are reaping the benefits of an oil boom
in the Gulf of Guinea, raising concerns
about coastal ecosystems. Mangroves are
vulnerable to offshore oilspills, which can
drastically deplete their fish and wildlife
resources. Contaminants can quickly
spread into the dense vegetation, rendering
oil collection, dispersion, and cleanup
difficult if not impossible. Cameroon and
Equatorial Guinea both lack sufficient
capacity to adequately monitor and
mitigate such a disaster.
In June 2006, an interagency team from
the U.S. Coast Guard, Forest Service, and
State Department traveled to Cameroon
and Equatorial Guinea to assess what
would happen in the event of a major
oilspill. Forest Service experience with
oilspills dates to the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Prince William Sound, AK,
when the disaster response team used
the Incident Command System, a flexible
system adaptable to any type of incident at
any scale. The interagency team thought
that the Incident Command System might
be useful on an oilspill in Africa, as well.
The team determined that neither
Cameroon nor Equatorial Guinea has
a national response system in place,
although the oil industry is relatively well
equipped for certain types of operations.
Stakeholders in Cameroon and Equatorial
Guinea indicated a genuine interest in a
collaborative workshop or training series
on the Incident Command System. In
partnership with the Coast Guard and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Forest Service specialists
began preparing a basic/intermediate
multihazard training class. The U.S.
Coast Guard serves as the lead agency
for responding to spills in U.S. waters;
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration brings to the team its
many years of experience with mapping
environmentally sensitive areas and oilspill
trajectory analysis.
In September 2007 in Douala,
Cameroon, a training was presented
to Government and oil industry
representatives from Cameroon, Equatorial
Guinea, and Gabon. With modules on
organization and staffing, resources,
facilities, and planning and managing
disaster response, the course culminated in
an oilspill scenario simulation that requires
students to complete an incident action
plan and present an operational briefing.
Emphasis was placed on protecting
the most fragile marine habitats. Goals included increasing regional capacity to
deal with an oilspill disaster, promoting
cooperation among stakeholders, and
reducing Government reliance on oil
industry capabilities.
In the Gulf of Guinea, an oilspill disaster
could threaten regional stability, but the
Incident Command System affords a way
to bring a crisis under control. By sharing
their expertise, the Forest Service and
others can help countries in the region
finalize national contingency plans while
building a more participatory framework
for disaster response, one that addresses
the needs of all. Governments, industry,
and nongovernmental organizations can
work together in response to any incident,
protecting the rich mangrove resources for
generations to come. |
