As part of the Integrated Management of the Marine and Coastal Resources of the Northern Mozambique Channel - NoCaMo project, in collaboration with the COMBO+ project, Fauna & Flora and WCS organized a three day training workshop to build capacity of government, private sector, and civil society on use and implementation of good practice in applying the Mitigation Hierarchy during the week of the 6th of May in Nosy Be, Madagascar.
The training provided guidance on how the Mitigation Hierarchy needs to be applied to avoid and minimize biodiversity impacts from new Oil & Gas developments on coastal and marine ecosystems. The sessions had a particular focus on coral reefs, sea turtles and marine mammals as priority biodiversity features to first understand the ecology of the system, but also to be used as indicators on future environmental impact assessments.
The workshop also included practical case studies and working group sessions where participants were able to put in practice the Mitigation Hierarchy and to help them understand the technical aspects and different perspectives involved in the decision-making processes about new development projects, such as in the Oil and Gas sector.
The training gathered 30 participants from different sectors. Government representatives from the Ministry of Mining, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of fisheries, MPA managers, and regional authorities attended the training. Civil society, NGO and university representatives (Tafomihaavo, Blue Ventures, Cétamada, Madagascar National Parks, Antananarivo University, Transparency International, APMF, ONE, CNRO) participated in the training.