Building on the success of the NAMIRS project, a new project funded by the Interreg IPA Adrion Programme, ASAP - the Adriatic Sensitive Areas Protection - Mechanism, was officially launched on 24 September 2024 at the CEI’s premises.
ASAP gathers 9 partners and 7 Associated partners from 6 countries on the Adriatic (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia). The new project, led by the CEI-Executive Secretariat aims at fostering the protection of the Adriatic Sea from accidental pollution caused by incidents at sea, transferring the knowledge gained through NAMIRS, which focused on the Northern Adriatic and sharing it with the countries in the southern part of the Adriatic.
One of ASAP's highlights will be two large-scale exercises at sea, one simulating marine pollution in the Northern and one in the Southern Adriatic area. These exercises will give all actors involved the chance to work together and apply common standard operating procedures (SOPs) in case of incidents at sea.
At the project’s kick-off, participants stressed the critical role of exchange of experiences during trainings and exercises. Familiarising with people responsible for operations is crucial in a real case scenario. Partners further engaged in fruitful discussions on the upcoming activities, looking also at how to capitalise the existing knowledge and mostly at how to make this a long-term cooperation
A key outcome of these discussions is the adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at fostering continued coordination, data-sharing, joint training, and future exercises across the region. All partners agree that a lasting mechanism for such cooperation is vital for safeguarding the Adriatic Sea, well beyond the duration of the ASAP project.
For more info: marconato@cei.int
