From 16 to 17 November, the GloBallast Partnerships Project organized a Regional training workshop on practical aspects of Risk Assessment and Port Biological Baseline Surveys (PBBS) related to the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention. The workshop was hosted in Zagreb by the Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure and the Croatian Shipowners’ Association (CSA).
The workshop was attended by participants from Croatia, Nigeria, Ghana, Jordan and Egypt and was a good opportunity to share knowledge and experience on risk assessment and PBBS topics and to encourage regional cooperation regarding the implementation of the BWM Convention.
Participants were able to acquire the theoretical and practical training on how to plan and conduct Port Biological Baseline Surveys (PBBS) for introduced marine pests using standardized protocols, and how to conduct a risk assessment for the implementation of the BWM Convention with a focus on ship targeting for PSCOs and exemptions under Regulation A4. In this regard, the training also focused on risk-based decision support systems to support the implementation of the BWM Convention and presented to the participants the concrete applications and tools that already exist in the field for risk assessment.
