Towards a sub-regional agreement to strengthen cooperation for marine pollution response in West Africa

CEDRE supported the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) and six West African countries in drawing up a cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening preparedness for and response to accidental marine pollution.

From 26 to 29 October, representatives from Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal met in Banjul, the Gambia, at the invitation of the Gambia Maritime Administration. This workshop follows on from the work initiated in Dakar in 2025 on the development of a sub-regional Memorandum of Understanding.

During this workshop, facilitated by GI WACAF, CEDRE,  ITOPF and Marittima Ltd., representatives of the six countries continued to examine the draft agreement and to validate the various provisions from a technical perspective.

This Memorandum aims to set out a framework for cooperation between the signatory States, with a view to facilitating mutual assistance and strengthening coordination in the event of accidental marine pollution.

This workshop marks an important milestone in the development of the Memorandum. The work undertaken should lead to the agreement being signed, as scheduled in 2027, and to the long-term strengthening of sub-regional cooperation on preparedness for and response to accidental marine pollution.