Until 31 May, the port of Saint John is inviting applications to promote port education. The port plans to support teachers with educational materials and guided tours of its site. To qualify for aid, participants must promise to attend meetings regularly and promote inclusion and respect for all.

The European Maritime Day event took place in Ravenna on 19 and 20 May. Nearly 1,500 ‘ocean leaders’ came together for two days, to discuss the development of a sustainable blue economy, in line with the European Green Deal. Several of our members attended, including the Port of Livorno, which presented its new Port Center library.

The SUEZ group and its partner Consortium d’entreprises (CDE) will construct a wastewater treatment plant in the Hann Bay next to Dakar (Senegal). The aim is to restore the water quality by diminishing the pollution by effluents from households and businesses. The facility will have a capacity of 26,000 m³ per day, will be more energy efficient and use fewer chemical reagents. There will also be an odor treatment system to improve the comfort of local residents and to integrate the facility into the area in a sustainable manner. Effluents will be collected from industrial plants, population centres, and the autonomous Dakar port. The treated wastewater will be discharged into the sea via a 3 km long marine outfall pipe.

The port of San Diego(California, USA) is continuing to provide financial support for the protection of an endangered species of bird (Rallus obsoletus levipes). It has pledged to donate $180,000 over the next five years to the Living Coast Discovery Center, a not-for-profit zoo and aquarium.
Studies of California’s marshes show that in 1980 and 1985, the species’ population fell to just 142 reproducing pairs. In 2016, partly thanks to captive breeding programmes, numbers peaked at 656 reproducing pairs.

This commitment echoes a similar effort by the port of Quebec presented by its CEO, Mario Girard, at the Solution Hub held in Tangier on “New tools for protecting biodiversity in port cities”.

The south-west Indian Ocean is thought to be the world’s third region most severely affected by climate change. According to a report involving the CNRS and BRGM, temperatures in the region have already risen by 0.6°C, and the accumulation of water vapour is causing more frequent intense rainfall in Mayotte and Réunion. Data from the BRIO suggest that extreme precipitation (over 300 mm of rain) will soon be 10 to 20% more common. In response, Mayotte has updated its flood management plan for the period up to 2027, to reconcile flood risks with urban development and planning, manage water runoff more effectively, and overhaul natural risk governance and crisis management.