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Experts join UN Sundarbans Oil Spill Response Mission

Tuesday, 23 December 2014


Experts from the USA, France, Finland, Sweden, Japan and Canada joined 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 members are specialised in oil spill intervention, petro-chemical, and various aspects of mangrove forest system, including water and aquatic species, flora and wildlife, according to UNDP officials in the city on Monday, reports UNB.
The team has been working in cooperation with the government in Dhaka and in the Sundarbans in planning the mission and will work closely with the government in the days to come.
Two of the experts 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 Ministry of Environment, Department of Environment, Forest Department and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Bangladeshi institutions - Marine Science Institute of Chittagong, Chittagong University; Khulna University; University of Dhaka and Wildlife Conservation Society are also involved in the process.