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ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Inter-American Committee on Ports
FIFTH MEETING OF THE OEA/Ser.W/XIII.4.5 INTER-AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON PORTS CIDI/CIP/doc.16/07
September 11 to 14, 2007 13 September 2007
Salvador, Brazil Original: Spanish
FINAL REPORT
FIRST HEMISPHERIC CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PORT PROTECTION
OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON PORTS
(April 10 - 13, 2007, Panama City, Panama)
INDEX
Page
I. BACKGROUND 3 333
II. PLACE AND DATE 4
III. AGENDA ……………………………………………………………………………………………4
IV. AUTHORITIES OF THE CONFERENCE 5
V. PARTICIPANTS 5
VI. DOCUMENTS 5
VII. CONFERENCE SESSIONS 5
A. Preliminary Session of Heads of Delegation 5
B. Inaugural Session 6
C. First Plenary Session 7
D. Second Plenary Session 12
E. Third Plenary Session 14
F. Fourth Plenary Session 17
G. Fifth Plenary Session 19
H. Sixth Plenary Session 21
I. Closing Session 22
VIII. ANNEXES
A. List of Participants 23
B. List of Documents 41
C. Conclusions and Recommendations presented by the Panama Maritime Authority 47
FINAL REPORT
FIRST HEMISPHERIC CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL
PORT PROTECTION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON PORTS
(April 10 - 13, 2007, Panama City, Panama)
I. BACKGROUND
The Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) is a Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) established in compliance with AG/RES. 1573 (XXVIII-0/98) of the General Assembly of the Organization of American State (OAS), pursuant to Articles 77 and 93 of the Charter of the Organization of American States, and Articles 5 and 15 of the CIDI Statutes.
The purpose of the CIP is to serve as a permanent inter-American forum for the member States of the OAS to strengthen cooperation in the area of developing the port sector, with the participation and active collaboration of the private sector. The Organization also includes permanent observer States interested in cooperating for the attainment of the CIP’s central objectives.
In response to the kind offer by the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), at the Fourth Meeting in Maracaibo in 2005, the CIP adopted Resolution CIDI/CIP/RES. 69 (IV-05) to hold the First Hemispheric Conference on Environmental Port Protection in Panama City, Panama. The Executive Board of the CIP (Houston 2005) later adopted Resolution CECIP/RES.22 (VII-05) which set the dates for the Conference at April 10 -13, 2007; this was then ratified at the two subsequent meetings of the Executive Board (Guayaquil, 2006 and Puerto la Cruz, 2006), through the respective resolutions: CECIP/RES. 13 (VIII-06) and CECIP/RES. 15 (I-E/06).
Consequently, coordination was established between the Secretariat of the CIP and the PMA, which yielded the launching and official announcement of the Conference to the port community and the public on January 18, 2007 in Panama City. The specific objectives of the Conference were established as follows:
· To promote an exchange of information on issues related to environmental port protection in the American hemisphere.
· To raise consciousness in the port sector regarding the importance of environmental protection as an added value to its activity.
· To strengthen the sustainable development of the port sector.
· To encourage environmental port management as a tool for promoting the sector.
· To present experiences and activities carried out by different players in the hemispheric port sector related to environmental stewardship.
· To facilitate cooperation among countries, businesses, and institutions so as to strengthen environmental port protection.
· To minimize use of the environmental variable as a means of unfair trade by publicizing universally accepted environmental management systems.
· To promote the training of human resources in the port sector on issues related to environmental stewardship.
· To raise awareness for the integration of the environmental variable into port development plans.
II. VENUE AND DATE
The Conference was held at the Hotel Continental Riande, Panama City, Panama, from April 10 to 13, 2007.
III. AGENDA
The agenda approved was as follows (document COPAP/doc.3/07):
1. Approval of agenda adopted in the preliminary session of the heads of delegation.
2. The state of environmental port protection in OAS member States: A brief overview of environmental policy. Short term institutional development and perspectives:
i Experiences from countries of Central America and the Caribbean.
ii Experiences from countries of North and South America.
3. International norms and standards on environmental protection impacting the port industry: the IMO MARPOL Convention, European environmental code of conduct and other international conventions.
4. The port industry and its environmental impact:
i The impact of the port sector on the environment and its effect on coastal zones.
ii Air contamination in the port environment.
iii Visual and audio contamination in port zones.
iv Accidental and operational contamination in ports by hydrocarbon and dangerous materials: contingency plans.
5. Policies and management on the impact of the port environment:
i Environmental port policies and strategies.
ii Port administration and the integral operation of coastal zones.
iii Management systems and the quality certification of ports.
iv Port installations for the reception of waste and ballast water.
v Environmental considerations for the development of port infrastructure.
vi Regional code projects for environmental port conduct.
vii Training, technical cooperation, and the financing of environmental port projects.
6. Considerations of the document “Conclusions and Recommendations presented by the Panama Maritime Authority.”
IV. AUTHORITIES OF THE CONFERENCE
Chair: Rubén Arosemena (Panama)
First Vice Chair: Francisco Pastrana (Mexico)
Second Vice Chair: Carlos Borja (El Salvador)
Coordinator: Zoila Yanisselli (Panama)
Secretary: Carlos M. Gallegos (OAS)
V. PARTICIPANTS
Delegations from the following member States of the OAS participated in the conference: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Delegations from Spain and France also attended as Permanent Observer States to the OAS. Representatives of the following international organizations attended: International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), Inter-American Transportation Chamber (CIT), Central American Commission of Maritime Transport (COCATRAM), Ibero-American Foundation for Sustainable Transport (FITS), Ibero-American Institute of Maritime Law (IIDM), International Maritime Organization (IMO); and special guests. The list of participants is included in Annex A of this report (document COPAP/doc.2/07).
VI. DOCUMENTS
The list of conference documents is included in Annex B of this report (COPAP/doc. 1/07).
VII. CONFERENCE SESSIONS
During the course of the Conference the preliminary session of heads of delegation, an inaugural session, six plenary sessions, and a closing session were held.
A. Preliminary Session of Heads of Delegation
This session was held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 and chaired by Ángel González Rul, Chairman of the CIP Executive Board and delegate of Mexico. The purpose of this meeting was to coordinate various operational aspects of the Conference. First, the authorities of the meeting were elected, as indicated in Section IV above.
Next, the following points were considered:
1. Final Conference Agenda: The draft agenda for the conference presented in document COPAP/doc. 3/07 was adopted, as included in Section III above.
2. Conference Schedule: The draft schedule of the conference, as presented in document COPAP/doc. 4/07, was approved.
3. Documents: It was agreed that all participants would be given a CD at the end of the conference including all of the documents, and that hard copies of the documents would not be distributed.
B. Inaugural Session
This session was held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, 2007. In attendance were Dr. Rubén Arosemena, Second Vice President of the Republic of Panama and Chair of the Conference, Francisco Pastrana, Chair of the Executive Board of CIP and principal delegate of Mexico, and Mr. Carlos M. Gallegos, Secretary of the Inter-American Committee on Ports.
After welcoming the various delegations to the country, Doctor Arosemena, expressed that his country is the home of considerable marine and land biological diversity, and that the country’s various forums had already reached a consensus to protect its diversity. He informed them of the challenges that would be faced by countries wishing to quickly develop economically without threatening the biological treasures that would be passed down to future generations. He pointed to the Panamanian maritime which is a global leader in the registration of boats, and the unique role that the Canal plays in world maritime transportation, although he indicated that the significant activity between ports and industry present significant challenges to the adherence of conventions in international forums such as the IMO. In this sense, he welcomed the numerous hemispheric experts to present their experiences and that the conclusions from the event will surely be valuable in achieving sustainable development in port activity.
Mr. Pastrana recalled that it is already standard practice in port development to provide environmental impact reports of equal importance as the traditional technical and economic plausibility assessments. He continued, expressing that even though this is a notable advancement, it is not enough since biological processes in the ecosystems are very complex. He suggested that in the long run, it will probably be necessary to implement more permanent evaluation processes that will allow for the perfection of the mitigation projects. In this sense, he expressed his satisfaction with the numerous presentations that will be presented in the sessions of the conference. Finally, he thanked the sponsors for their cordial invitation to host this conference.
Mr. Gallegos thanked the host country for organizing the first conference on a very important current issue that will have considerable impact on future generations. He reminded the participants that now that the process of port reform has taken place and institutional improvements have taken many ports to higher levels of productivity, it is a good time to take on the important task of finding a balance between port expansion and the necessity to protect the environment which will obviously result in an improvement of the living conditions of port and costal populations. He expressed his approval of the fact that the presentations would not be limited to hemispheric cases and thanked the speakers from other parts of the world for their valuable contributions.
C. First Plenary Session
The session was held at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. It was chaired by Mr. Rubén Arosemena, Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority and Chair of the Conference. The following agenda items were covered.
Approval of agenda adopted in the preliminary session of the heads of delegation (agenda item 1). It was approved.
International norms and standards on environmental protection impacting the port industry: the IMO MARPOL Convention, European environmental code of conduct and other international conventions (agenda item 3).
The panel of speakers was moderated by Mr. Francisco Pastrana, Secretary of Transportation of Mexico.
Klaus Essig of the National Aquatics and Islands Area Agency (INEA), Venezuela, spoke about the international conventions within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the national, regional, and international frame of reference for environmental port protection. He noted that between 1974 and 2003 worldwide statistics show that 54% of hydrocarbon spills occurred in port areas and in volumes less than 7 tons. Thus the importance of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (1973) and its 1978 Protocol (MARPOL 73/78), the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC 1990), and the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Waters and Sediments (BWM 2004). He pointed out the need to adopt national strategies based on the training of personnel, legal provisions, and institutional strengthening under the leadership of the maritime and port authority to comply with MARPOL 73/78 which is already in force. He recalled the lack of sufficient facilities to receive ships’ waste (for example, for the treatment of oily water and wastewater and solid wastes from both the operation of the ship and its cargo), and the need to provide these services without causing undue delay in the operation of the ships. He then explained the legal framework for the protection of the marine environment in the Wider Caribbean stemming from both the pioneering Cartagena Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in the Wider Caribbean Region and OPRC 1990, which have led to the drafting of regional contingency plans to respond to accidental oil spills. He offered some specifics regarding the measures contemplated by BWM 2004, such as rules for the emptying of ballast water and the ban on doing so in protected areas. This will likely enter into force in 2009 once 30 countries representing 35% of the world’s tonnage accede to it. Finally, he recommended that more countries participate in the Technical Advisory Group on Environmental Port Protection of the CIP/OAS which is drafting regional plans for the protection of the marine environment based on national experiences. See document COPAP/doc. 17/07.
Leandro García from the Port Authority of Valencia, Spain, explained the ECOPORT model. He indicated that environmental management systems (EMS) are unavoidable in today’s companies, and they are on par with other more traditional ones in terms of production, quality, logistics, human resources, etc. He defined them as a style of management that allows companies to establish their objectives, goals, commitments and responsibilities to society and the environment, such that they can carry out their activities without harming the environment. He also added that these systems can be regulated through ISO Standard 14001. In Spain they fall under Regulation 761/01 which establishes a management system and environmental audits for companies in the European Community. He explained that the ECOPORT model stems from a project by that name carried out some years ago by the European Community to determine a methodology applicable to the port industry. The EMS applies to companies that carry out their activities in the port area (seven companies at the Port of Valencia initially participated in the model). They follow the five-point ECOPORT methodology: setting an environmental policy; initial environmental analysis; design and implementation of the system; internal audit; and review of the system. At point one the top leadership of the company expresses its commitment to the environment and lays out a framework for specific actions. During the initial analysis the company determines the global impact of port activity (processes, products, and services) on the environment, as well as the environment’s starting point (pristine, slightly polluted, highly deteriorated), all duly quantified as much as possible. The methodology for conducting this analysis entails gathering information according to standard patterns, reviewing legislation in force, etc. The design and implementation phase includes the drafting of handbooks for management and procedures (there are 19 of them), and a repertoire of technical instructions as well as the compilation of documentary evidence which allows for ongoing assessments of the measures applied. The internal audit stage will vary according to whether one applies the ISO standard or the more complete European standard. Review of the system is done in order to make detailed adjustments, as may be required both because of inaccuracies in the established processes and because of significant variations in the surroundings, the processes, and the environment. Regarding follow-up and monitoring of the EMS, he explained that the emergency control center should be permanently connected to all the relevant organizations and supported by a computer system tapped into sensors placed at strategic points in the port area, continuously monitoring air and water quality, and managing residuals from treatment plants for the products listed in Annexes I and V of MARPOL 73/78. He concluded by calling upon the attendees to seriously consider the possibility of adopting an EMS in their port areas, and to this end offered to share the experience the port of Valencia has had in this regard. See document COPAP/doc. 18/07.