1 speech by mrs. nancy karigithu â director general ... - PMAESA

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in the coastal zone is putting pressure on fragile ecosystems and coastalecosystems are under severe threat from development related activities.2The major challenges facing coastal countries in the region at present are coastalerosion, the potential impacts of climate change, over harvesting of resources andpollution.3. While Ports are part of the logistics chain and the transport networks with adecisive role in the protection of the marine environment, port expansion ordevelopment always raises a balancing problem of priority betweenenvironmental and social-economic issues. The strategic location of the portsbetween sea and land makes them the best witnesses of pollution coming fromland, ships and from the ports themselves.The port environment is threatened by: port's hinterland, ships activity, portactivity and port operation. Ports pollution may result from ship accidents,accidents in ports, land activities, ship bunkering, noises, garbage, dust, dredging,port maintenance, ship air pollution, traffic congestion, sewage and others.4. The environmental concerns facing ports in this region are common to all theports, and these range from diverse issues like the challenges posed by shipsoperational waste, sewage and garbage, oil spills from marine accidents, dredgingand disposal of dredged material, air pollution, traffic congestion, effluentdischarge, hazardous cargo, dust, water quality, noise, loss of or degradation ofhabitat for local communities due to lack of adequate urban planning, poor waterquality (arising from contamination with bilge water, ballast water, oily wastes,sewage, garbage and other residues in a ship, spills of oils, lubricants, fuels andother oily liquids). Repair docks are possible sources of toxic or harmful materialssuch as anti-foulants, paints, or heavy metals among others, handling ofdangerous cargo.Other challenges include:-• Bunker operations in port areas constitute, indeed, a great danger for oilpollution. Handling of cargo generates dust, especially dust coming fromphosphates.• Commodities may fall from cranes or are damaged by forks and forklift trucks.Damages are caused also by chemical products imported through the ports.
• Furthermore, pollution is generated from the maintenance of port infrastructureand superstructure works, pollution may also come from maintenance of port'sequipment and superstructure due to grit blasting and spray painting or from shiprepairs in the port area.• Congestion at ports leads to increased energy consumption, operational pollutionand loss of time and comfort.3• Oil pollution is a major threat, with high levels of oil transportation threateningthe Eastern and Southern African coast and the Islands, and oil drilling andprocessing activities may in the near future cause problems along the Eastern andSouthern African coasts.• Other environmental challenges include the visual quality of a project area whichis affected by the creation of a port, port facilities, lighting, and other opticaldisturbances, thus changing the landscape into an artificial scene ofindustrialization.• Alien invasive plants cause changes to freshwater availability and alter thediversity and abundance of species within ecosystems. Aquatic weeds also changewater quality by adding or removing nutrients and thus affect drinking waterquality and human health.4. The subject of marine pollution has received much attention from such esteemedorganisations like the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), United NationsConference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, 1993), United Nations, ComitéMaritime International (CMI), International Navigation Association (PIANC), WorldBank and others. Out of the work of these organisations a lot ofrecommendations have arisen of which ports in East and Southern Africa need totake cognisance.The attention of the international community has however, been concentratedmainly to port's visitors, (i.e. the ships themselves), because of the well-known riskfrom marine accidents.6. The following international instruments are relevant:o The London Dumping Convention 1975, addressing the issue of materialdredging from ports and how to deal with them;
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1 speech by mrs. nancy karigithu â director general ... - PMAESA