Experts from different countries join UN Oil Spill Response Mission

Experts from the USA, France, Finland, Sweden, Japan and Canada joined hands with the UN Sundarbans Oil Spill Response Mission, which is supporting Bangladesh government in containing the spillage and cleaning up, and assessing the situation and develop an action plan for a phased response and recovery. The team arrived in Mongla Upazila of Bagerhat district on Monday evening. The team members are specialised in oil spill intervention, petro-chemical, and various aspects of mangrove forest system, including water and aquatic species, flora and wildlife. They have been working in cooperation with Bangladesh government in Dhaka and in the Sundarbans in planning the mission and will work closely with the government in the days to come. Oil tanker ‘OT Southern Star 7,’ with 358,000 litres of furnace oil, capsized in Shela River in Chandpai Range in Mongla Upazila on Dec 9. Talking to this correspondent, a UNDP officials in Dhaka said two members of the team are from Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (CEDRE), France, one from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Office of Response and Restoration and one from the University of California, Davis, one from Finland – team leader through the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)/United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), one each from Sweden, Japan, Canada and two UNDP experts on disaster and environmental disasters. The UN mission comprises representatives of national specialists, officials from the Ministry of Environment, the Department of Environment, Forest Department and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Bangladeshi institutions – Marine Science Institute of Chittagong, Chittagong University; Khulna University and University of Dhaka are also involved in the process, according to a news agency.