1. National Level Institutional Capacity
Activity 1.1 Each country establishes a hydrographic committee to assist with resource, allocations, and product dissemination.
Strategies
- Identify institutions related to maritime transportation, marine environmental protection and other sectors with interest or use for hydrographic information. (Guatemala timeframe: completed
Honduras timeframe: two weeks
Belize timeframe: two weeks
Suriname timeframe: two weeks
Cuba timeframe: completed
Nicaragua timeframe: two weeks)
2.Raise awareness (at high levels) of importance of hydrography.
2.1. Involve high level TG1 members and IHB members in the influencing of high level officials in GOH countries. (by 3rd quarter 2005, before regional capacity-building workshop in 4th quarter 2005. Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, and IHB)
2.1.1 Identify senior level agency representatives to contact in each country.
2.2. Identify level of support from high level entities in each country. (to be determined during visits)
2.2.1. Gauge willingness and capacity of institutions to provide support.
2.2.2. Review legal framework for establishing a national coordination mechanism (options include creation of an informal coordination mechanism among agencies that later gets legal authority/codification, i.e. the Panamanian experience) (each country to review its own framework and provide this information to IHB; each country to review IHB’s website for existing documents on national legal mandates; IHB to provide document based on Panamanian experience)
2.2.3. Create mechanism for participating agencies to access and share the information.
2.2.4. Identify sources of funding to support committee functions, including formal budgetary support
- Identify specific needs by country
Guatemala:
- visit from high level IHO officials to justify (to high level Guatemalan ministers in coordination with maritime department) creation of hydrographic committee.
- Liase with IHB S55 coordinator to complete questionnaire.
Honduras:
- IHO should contact/visit Directing Committee of the National Port Authority to justify creation of hydrographic committee.
- Liase with IHB S55 coordinator to complete questionnaire.
Belize:
- Need to assign responsibility for Port Authority as country point of contact for hydrographic activity execution for the Gulf of Honduras project.
- Need to establish legal mandate for Port Authority to have national responsibility for hydrography
- request models/examples from other countries used to create hydrographic committees.
- visit from high level IHO officials to justify (to high level Belize entities) creation of hydrographic committee.
- Liase with IHB S55 coordinator to complete questionnaire.
Suriname and Nicaragua will also liase with IHB S55 coordinator to complete questionnaire.
Activity 1.2 Each country’s hydrographic committee establishes consensus on the capabilities, products, and services that should be developed in house.
Strategies
1.2.1Determine priority ports for surveying and/or ENC production under the project
1.2.2Define national requirements for training, expertise, and equipment required for hydrographic data collection, processing, paper and ENC production, distribution, and safe navigation.
1.2.3Determine which of those requirements could be met through a regional arrangement.
1.2.4GOH countries agree to use S55 methodology (include all existing information—for example, GOH gap analysis, IHB country reports) to determine institutional and technical requirements to produce project results. Include information needs of GOH project in S55 questionnaire
(Completed)
1.2.5IHB and MACHC will send letters to points-of-contact requesting completion of S55 questionnaire. Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Belize will provide point-of-contact information to IHB and MACHC
(Completed)
1.2.6 S55 coordinator will provide electronic copies of questionnaire directly to TG1 members (Completed)
1.2.7. Complete modified S55 questionnaire by November 2004 meeting of IHO capacity-building committee. - priority is to complete Section 4
(participating countries and S55 coordinator by Nov. 2004)
1.2.8 IHB to make report from 2000 visit to Central America available to points-of-contact in individual countries. (Completed)
1.2.9 Conduct analysis of GOH countries’ needs for GOH project based on results of S55 questionnaire (timeframe: January 2005, place: TBD participants: S55 coordinator, GOH countries, and other ECWG members); Use IHO capacity-building strategy to see how it might support analysis of GOH needs.
2.Regional Level Institutional Capacity
Activity 2.1 Host regional workshop to discuss:
- Establish high level agreement(s) between GOH countries and other interested parties (i.e. Colombian offer of vessel, COCATRAM to coordinate agreement?) including data sharing, collection and dissemination (ex. To allow vessels from other countries to conduct work on behalf of others).
1.1 identify what resources each country can bring to the table
1.2 determine related GOH project budget allocations
2. Discuss possibility of countries sharing responsibility for conducting surveys, production of ENCs and making data available for GIS applications.
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Other Actions:
1. Each country should send MACHC and IHO updated point-of-contact information.
(No country has sent MACHC and IHO an updated point-of-contact
information. NOAA will proceed work with Colombia on this)
2. Commander of U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office will provide upon formal written request data from cooperative hydrographic surveys (see Stan Harvey for assistance) (timeframe: letter will arrive within two weeks)
2.1. TG2 to help with identification of adequacy of surveys to be used for ENC production.
(Each GOH country should send to the Commander of the US NavalOceanographic Office a formal letter requesting data from cooperative hydrographic surveys. NOAA will follow up with the countrypoints of contact to see if they have done this)
3. Establish linkage between ECWG website and MACHC section of IHO website to facilitate access to S55 questionnaire (completed)
Notes and actions resulting from 9/29 Conference Call
NOAA team will begin to outline strategy for GOH points-of-contact to
build relationshipswith appropriate ministries in preparation for IHB visit.
Also willing to help with preparation of advance materials, tailored to
perspective/interests of relevant ministries.
- NOAA will integrate the above actions as strategies in
the implementation plan for the hydrographic component of GoH Project.
- No news from Belize (Mike Barritt to follow up when he sends amended
S55 questionnaire).
- Mike might need additional help with communications in Spanish with Central American countries. Will advise after meetings at IHB (10/5-6).
The team at NOAA offeredto help if needed.
- IHB awaiting reply of Mexican officials to host venue for November
2004 meeting.
- Use results of S55 questionnaire to evaluate whether a January 2005
meeting is needed to determine tri-national cooperation required for GoH project.
- IHB will communicate with El Salvador (Luis Hernandez) to ensure their active participation in future MACHC/ECWG meetings.
- IHB will continue close communication with COCATRAM located in
Managua, Nicaragua.
- Juan Manelia, representative from COCATRAM, asked IHB to review a listof hydrographic equipment andassociated costs. Not clear if this list is related to original COCATRAM initiatives or to the “shopping list” developed for the GoH project. IHB will send the list to NOAA for comparison
- The Spanish version of the report and action items from the Cartagena meetinghave been already placed on the IHO website. The English version needs to be included in theECWG web site. NOAA will translate.
- It was agreed to first evaluate the S-55 questionnaire results todetermine the need of having aface-to-face meeting to conduct analysis of GOH country's needs for the GOH project.
- NOAA will provide IHB with a revised list of actions (the friendlyversion)
- Next conference call on October 19th at 9:30 am U.S. Eastern time.