CEFAS24-133 RFQ for technical advisory services on risk assessment

Description

The Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) is funded through UK official development
assistance (ODA) as part of the UKs Blue Planet Fund. It aims to strengthen marine science
expertise, develop science-based policy and management tools, and create educational resources
for coastal communities under three main objectives described in terms of marine pollution,
sustainable seafood, and marine biodiversity. It supports activities in partnership with country
governments directed towards capacity building for marine science in local institutions,
organisations and communities. Shipping-related Pollution: Whilst the number of shipping-related
pollution incidents has gradually decreased with improvements to ship safety and training over
recent decades, the risk of shipping incidents remains. This is due to the rapid expansion of
international trade, where there is still the potential for occasional large high-profile incidents to
occur through collision and/or grounding, as well as emerging activities such as oil exploration
activities and development of petroleum refinery. Spills can include pollutants such as
hydrocarbons, plastics, and hazardous and noxious substances. Recent high-profile events such
as the MV Wakashio grounding on the outer reef of Mauritius, spilling ~820 tonnes of low sulphur
fuel oil into the surrounding environment and the X-press Pearl which caught fire and spilled oil and
plastic pellets along the coast of Sri Lanka, demonstrate first-hand the devastating impacts of such
incidents. Such incidents can threaten marine biodiversity, world heritage sites and the livelihoods
of coastal communities. There is a need to understand the risk posed by spills to inform proactive
preparedness for such spills. Compared with other parts the of the world, the capacity of countries
in the Indian Ocean region to respond to maritime disasters still remains a challenge. Government
agencies are seeking to address this and have taken steps towards reinforcing pollution response
capability. Risk Assessments are a useful tool to help understand the relative risks and to support
environmental management decision making, and can be used to inform management decisions,
based on the assessed risk to ecological and economic marine resources. Requirement: Work
Package 1: Risk Assessment Report for Sri Lanka This report will include an assessment of risk of
maritime spills and risk to aquatic resources (e.g. commercial, habitats and species). The
Assessment will evaluate data and information from the period 2018 to present. Download the
Bidder Pack at https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome and search for CEFAS24-133 under
opportunities.