The first Ministerial Conference of the Benguela Current Commission took place in Namibia in July 2007. It was attended by Namibia’s Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr Abraham Iyambo and his counterparts Salomão Juheto Xirimbimbi from Angola and Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in South Africa.

At the Conference, the ministers decided that the Commission would be located in Namibia and chaired by Minister Iyambo in its first year. Dr Francisca Delgado, director of the Marine Research Institute (INIP) in Angola, was elected to chair the Management Board of the Commission. An Executive Secretary and an Ecosystem Coordinator are to be appointed to administer the Commission and coordinate its scientific programme.

The Benguela Current Commission will replace the two regional programmes, BENEFIT and the BCLME Programme, which will draw to a close by year-end.

The Global Environment Facility, which has supported the implementation of the BCLME Programme over the past five years, has been approached to provide start up funds of $5 million to the Benguela Current Commission. Additional funding will be sought from international donors, while the three countries will contribute equally to the administration of the Commission.