Electronic Chart Working Group
December 11, 2003
Ms. Michele LeMay
Coastal Resources Specialist
Natural Resource and Environmental Management Division 2
InterAmerican Development Bank
1300 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20577
Topic: Environmental Protection and Maritime Transport
Pollution Control in the Gulf of Honduras: Project In-Kind Co-financing
Dear Ms. LeMay:
Following discussions during the final project preparation meeting, held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in October 2003, we would like to confirm the commitment, on behalf of the MesoAmerican - Caribbean Sea Hydrographic Commission (MACHC)’s Electronic Chart Working Group (ECWG), to contribute US$335,000.00 of in-kind co-financing over the first two years of the proposed GEF/IADB project addressing the Environmental Protection and Maritime Transport Pollution Control in the Gulf of Honduras. As these resources represent in-kind contributions from individual MACHC/ECWG member countries, they are contingent upon annual budget appropriations. Annex 1 offers a detailed break down of the committed funds by project sub-objective and activities.
This in-kind financing would be in the form of training as well as technical advice and assistance to the three project beneficiary countries and would supplement, in an integrated manner, the project activities as outlined in the project document presented at the Tegucigalpa meeting. We would like to use this opportunity to reiterate MACHC’s support for and ongoing commitment to the successful implementation of the proposed Gulf of Honduras project.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Ries Denis Fuentes
Chair Chair
MACHC Electronic Chart Working Group MACHC ECWG Task Group 1
Annex 1
Sub-Objective
/ Activities / MACHC/ECWG ($)IIIf) Building on the initial assessment/ gap analysis of regional hydrographic capabilities of the Meso-American and Caribbean Sea Hydrographic Commission (MACHC), hold a high-level workshop to address institutional arrangements for regional capacity building. Participants should include senior, decisionmaking representatives from each country’s national interministerial hydrographic coordination mechanism (Commission, Steering Group, etc.), regional organizations such as COCATRAM, MACHC and other key players. Such a workshop should 1) explore alternatives for regional cooperation under the scope of the project, and 2) decide on a common approach, including political arrangements that will effectively build regional capacity while reducing costs by utilizing common assets. / i) Each country establishes an interministerial mechanism (Commission, Committee, Steering Group, etc.) with representatives from relevant government ministries (including the National Geographic Institutes) and private sector entities to assess, organiz / 45000
ii) Each country’s interministerial coordination mechanism establish consensus on what capabilities, products and services it could potentially provide to regional hydrographic activities. / 45000
IIIg) Develop and implement a training/demonstration program for national and regional entities in hydrography to improve technical capacity. / i) a. Building on the outcomes of IIIf(ii) obtain sustainable access to training, expertise and equipment (both hardware and software) required for hydrographic data collection, processing, analysis, paper and electronic chart production and distribution. / 125000
ii) Provide training on hydrographic surveying, data processing, archiving and production of electronic navigational charts. Identify and conduct three demonstration pilot activities related to navigational risk / 40000
iii) Provide training on how to format hydrographic data so that it can be integrated into the project data and information management system (including GIS) and used for non-navigation purposes (such as coral reef mapping, coastal zone management, etc.) / 40000
IIIh) Identify and conduct three demonstration pilot activities related to navigational risk reduction. Examples include improved incineration facilities, improved processes for removal, transport, and treatment of chemical wastes (including oil, solid waste and water), improved navigational products and services (such as production of an electronic navigational chart for a project priority port), and regional vessel tracking capabilities. / i) Host regional workshop/symposium on best available technologies and best environmental practices addressing navigational risks; broadly disseminate results from the symposium.
ii) Select technologies/practices and implement demonstration projects. / 40000
iii) Monitor and report on progress of demonstration projects.
iv) Disseminate lessons learned from demonstration projects: encourage their application elsewhere in the region.
TOTAL / 335000