Nieuws

20 jaar geleden, op 22 januari 2003 kregen de zeevogels voor de Belgische kust de grootste olieramp ooit te verwerken! Vele duizenden olieslachtoffers spoelden in enkele dagen aan en het Opvangcentrum zette een enorme operatie op poten om ze veel mogelijk dieren te redden. Het relaas kan je  hier lezen.

De lessen die toen geleerd zijn, de contacten die toen gelegd zijn, de plannen die hieruit voortvloeiden hebben mee gezorgd waar we met het Opvangcentrum nu staan: een van de meest gespecialiseerde centra in Europa voor zeevogels. Tot op vandaag wordt deze expertise en netwerking internationaal ingezet om de vele dieren in nood te helpen.

versie 04/08/2022

• Vragen? Neem contact op met de influenzalijn van het Federaal Agentschap voor Veiligheid van de Voedselketen (FAVV) op 0800 99 777. Op weekdagen te bereiken van 8u30-16u30, in weekends 24/24.
• Zieke of dode vogel gevonden waarvan je vermoedt dat het om vogelgriep gaat? Lees dan verder!
• Kustgemeenten:
  • Vermoeden van vogelgriep? Raak de vogel niet aan.
  • De gemeenten zijn momenteel verantwoordelijk voor de ophaling van zieke en dode dieren, waarbij een vermoeden van vogelgriep bestaat. Klik hier voor een overzicht van de verantwoordelijke diensten per kustgemeente.
• Rest van provincie:
  • Dode vogels dienen gemeld te worden aan het FAVV op 0800 99 777.
  • Vogels waarvan een vermoeden bestaat dat ze mogelijk besmet zijn met vogelgriep mogen bij ons of de collega's van VOC Beernem worden binnengebracht.

Foto © Nathalie Colpaert

EUROWA (EURopean Oiled Wildlife Assistance) is a network of European oiled wildlife response experts who are working together to improve professionalism in marine wildlife emergency response. We have been building our network of wildlife professionals for many years and with the help of EU Civil Protection funding through the EUROWA-1 and EUROWA-2 projects, our network is now solidifying.

Marine pollution events such as oil spills are rare, but they can have devastating effects on marine life, local livelihoods, and society at large. Our aim is to provide a well-disciplined, coordinated, and professional wildlife response team consisting of experts and their equipment, which can quickly be put together and sent to assist a European country that is facing a wildlife emergency.

The key to successful wildlife response is preparedness and understanding how a wildlife response is best integrated into the overall oil spill response organisation. Large-scale oil spill response operations are complex, long-lasting and logistically challenging. Wildlife responders need to have access to key decision making structures and situation awareness tools – and there must be pre-agreed structures in place to accommodate the needs of the Wildlife Branch. Therefore, we want to actively educate and involve national authorities, to increase their awareness of the risks and possible scales of wildlife emergencies and how to successfully plan and prepare for them as part of an integrated emergency management system. This will be the main focus of our two authority workshops under the EUROWA-2 project planned in January and March 2022.

For the EUROWA network to be able to respond, a national wildlife response and preparedness system must be in place, that can easily accommodate the presence of EUROWA international experts and their equipment. Ideally, there is a national oiled wildlife response plan that has made arrangements for this. To achieve a well-functioning wildlife response system, a rigid oiled national oiled wildlife response organisation should be in place, where NGOs/volunteers are involved in continued development of facilities, training and equipment – and experts should be able to keep their skills up to date. Exercise programmes should ensure that response capabilities are continually tested and improved. Training local responders to EUROWA standards ensures that providing and receiving European assistance is not only possible but seamless, and that resource use is efficient. 

Our vision is for every coastal country in Europe to be well prepared for an emergency involving wildlife. Although several countries (like the Netherlands) have made great strides forward in setting up robust arrangements for wildlife response, across Europe there is still much to be done. Ultimately it is the responsibility of authorities in each country to be able to mount and coordinated an oiled wildlife response, assisted by local stakeholders and expertise from our EUROWA network. With your help we can develop a European Oiled Wildlife Assistance system that is both financially and structurally supported by authorities, professional, firmly integrated in national and European oil spill response systems and ensures the well-being of oil-affected animals and responders alike!