1. National Level Institutional Capacity
Activity 1.1 Each country establishes a hydrographic committee to assist
with resource, allocations, and product dissemination.
Strategies
1. 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
3.
Identify specific needs by country
Guatemala:
a. visit from high level IHO officials to justify (to high level Guatemalan
ministers in coordination with maritime department) creation of
hydrographic committee.
b. Liase with IHB S55 coordinator to complete questionnaire.
Honduras:
c. IHO should contact/visit Directing Committee of the National Port
Authority to justify creation of hydrographic committee.
d. Liase with IHB S55 coordinator to complete questionnaire.
Belize:
e. Need to assign responsibility for Port Authority as country point of
contact for hydrographic activity execution for the Gulf of Honduras
project.
f. Need to establish legal mandate for Port Authority to have national
responsibility for hydrography
g. request models/examples from other countries used to create
hydrographic committees.
h. visit from high level IHO officials to justify (to high level Belize entities)
creation of hydrographic committee.
i. 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
1.2.1
Determine priority ports for surveying and/or ENC production under the
project
1.2.2
Define national requirements for training, expertise, and equipment
required for hydrographic data collection, processing, paper and ENC
production, distribution, and safe navigation.
1.2.3
Determine which of those requirements could be met through a regional
arrangement.
1.2.4
GOH 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)
1.2.5
IHB 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:
1. 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 Naval Oceanographic
Office a formal letter requesting data from cooperative hydrographic surveys. NOAA
will follow up with the country points 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 relationships with 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 offered to 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 list of
hydrographic equipment and associated 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 meeting have
been already placed on the IHO website. The English version needs to be included in
the ECWG web site. NOAA will translate.
- It was agreed to first evaluate the S-55 questionnaire results to determine the need of
having a face-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 friendly version)
- Next conference call on October 19th at 9:30 am U.S. Eastern time.