The Principles of Effective Post-spill Environmental Monitoring and their Application to Preparedness Assessment

Abstract

Understanding the fate and effects of spilled oil or chemicals in the marine environment is essential if the scientific and response communities are to develop best practices for the future. The timely and successful deployment of survey specialists, sampling strategy and scientific techniques to monitor the environmental consequences of an incident can be a complex challenge and, in the same way as for spill response and clean-up, requires effective planning and coordination. However, the delivery of the necessary guidance, skilled personnel and coordinated management are often not pre-identified, are rarely in the same organisation and the levels of preparedness to undertake complex monitoring programmes are often low. This paper identifies the 8 principles of effective post-spill monitoring programmes as; Scientific Guidance, Skills & Knowledge, Equipment, Funding, Responsibility & Management, Integration & Coordination, Support & Buy-in and Practice. Drawing on experience from the Premiam (Pollution Response in Emergencies: Marine Impact Assessment and Monitoring; www.cefas.defra.gov.uk/premiam) programme in the United Kingdom these principles are described and the approaches taken and challenges faced in the UK to improve post-spill monitoring practices are outlined. This paper goes on to describe how these principles can be used as the basis for the assessment of monitoring preparedness through the generation of a Monitoring Preparedness Assessment Score (MPAS). This assessment approach can be used by local, regional or national authorities to establish the level of environmental monitoring and impact assessment preparedness for incidents in their areas and to highlight areas for improvement. In addition it is of use to responders, policy makers, environmental scientists and planners as a tool through which to assess preparedness and capability for specific scenarios. The use of the approach is demonstrated through the assessment of previous incidents and potential future scenarios.