GI WACAF contributes to a MOOC on the environmental management of offshore oil & gas activities in West Africa

April 12th 2021

The Regional Partnership for the Conservation of the Coastal and Marine Zone (PRCM) has set up an online training platform in order to provide conservation actors with continuous training on the challenges of the West African coast and its resources. The first course of the platform, to which GI WACAF contributed, is dedicated to various aspects of the environmental management of offshore oil and gas activities. The MOOC will start on April 15th, 2021.

This first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) lead by the PRCM was designed to address the risks and potential impacts of oil and gas activities on marine ecosystems. The GI WACAF Project is proud to have participated to this project and alongside other partners such as the GIDEL (Integrated Management and Sustainable Development of the West African Coast) Master degree from the Cheick Anta Diop University in Dakar and the MAVA Foundation. While oil and gas exploration and production are increasing off the coast of some West African countries such as Senegal and Mauritania, it is essential to enhance stakeholders' capacities in the sub-region for a better understanding of the environmental challenges linked to the oil and gas sector.

The MOOC is already accessible on the PRCM e-learning platform and will last four weeks. Five modules will detail marine and coastal ecosystems, hydrocarbons' geopolitical issues, the typology of oil and gas activities, their environmental impacts, their regulatory frameworks and the tools for their environmental management. The GI WACAF team contributed to this course on the following topics:

  • The international legal framework;
  • Multilateral cooperation frameworks; and
  • Oil spill preparedness and reponse at sea.

For more information, please download the MOOC brochure, read the MOOC's description and register on the PRCM e-learning platform so you won't miss the launch of this first course!

Please note that the MOOC on the environmental management of offshore oil and gas activities is only available in French.