Protecting Sensitive Sea Areas in South-East Asia
Further progress towards identifying and designating Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) in south-east Asia has been made during a regional meeting in Lombok, Indonesia (27-28 July).
Some 30 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Viet Nam and observers from Singapore met to identify any gaps in knowledge in potential areas to be selected and proposed to be designated as a PSSA by International Maritime Organization (IMO).
They also discussed additional assistance which may be required in developing final submissions to IMO. Participants were also introduced to the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) risk management toolbox, which is a modelling tool used to assess risk of collisions and groundings in a particular sea area.
The Third Regional Meeting on the Identification and Designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) in the ASEAN Sub-Region involving Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam was organized under the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) of the IMO and funded through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).