The 17th Edition of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) starts today (Tuesday) in Luanda, Angola, with a focus on the impact of port operations on the environment and climate change.
With the theme: “The Role of Ports against the Effects of the Climate Change”, leading port operators and administrators from different part of the globe are expected to brainstorm and come out with resolutions on how to make ports in West and Central Africa more environment-friendly.
The Nigerian delegation is led by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Mohammed Bello Koko, who is also billed to chair discussions on the first day on “Involvement of West and Central African ports in reducing carbon effects and options for energy conversion: Status and Perspectives”.
Six ports namely: Port of Luanda (Angola), Port of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Port of Douala (Cameroun), Port of Gabon, Port of Dakar (Senegal) and Sierra Leone Port Authority, are expected to make port-specific contributions to discussions on involvement of their ports in reducing carbon emission as well as options being considered for energy conversion in their respective ports.
Perspectives on discussions on foreign port operators from two French leaders in the business. The first is Mr Philippe Guillaumet, the International and European Projects Manager of Port of Marseille.
The other perspective is expected from Patrick Bret; the European and International Affairs Manager of Port of Le Havre; a leading French port for in container traffic.
Discussions at the week-long programme are also to centre on expectation from ship owners and maritime organizations in the battle against carbon emission.
A total of four presentations are expected on the topic: Involvement of Ship owners and Maritime Organizations in the reduction of carbon emission and the options proposed for this purpose.
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Among those expected to bring their perspective to the table is the Abuja Memorandum on Port State Control (Abuja MoU), whose Secretary General, Captain Sunday Umoren is also in town.
The Abuja MoU on Port State Control for West and Central African Region, as is one of the nine Regional MoUs
Another Nigeria; Dr Bamanga Awwal from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is also scheduled to present a paper in discussions on “Challenges of accelerating the Energy Change to ease the effects of climate change and effect on Port, Maritime and Logistics sustainability (priorities, resources, institutional framework)
Dr Bamanga Awwal holds a Ph.D in Environmental Sciences with specialization in Sediment Geochemistry.
Other presentations on the topic are expected from the International Association of Ports and Harbour (IAPH), The World Bank, Webb Fontaine, DP World, Moroccan port operator TANGER MED, among others.
The PMAWCA conference will later break into technical committee sessions, where specialised issues are to be discussed.
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