Speeches

U.S. Embassy Political/Military Officer Quentin Barber
Remarks at the Closing Ceremony of the Oil Spill Response Seminar

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
La Plantation Hotel, Balaclava

Deputy Police Commissioner T. Seerungen 
Environmental Security Program Manager Artur Kolodziejski
Environmental Security Team Members
Graduates
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed a privilege for me, on behalf of the U.S. Embassy, to congratulate all of the participants today on graduating from this Spill Response Workshop. 

I would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to the Africa Command Environmental Security Program team for their efforts in facilitating this workshop. 

Likewise, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Police Headquarters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Environment deserve heartfelt thanks for their support and assistance to the United States Embassy and our partners, and for opening this training to various agencies, the private sector, and regional partners like the Seychelles.

I stress the importance of partnerships, because when it comes to Environmental Security we owe it to ourselves to collaborate! We owe it to our children to innovate!  And we owe it to the earth-- the natural resource that fuels our livelihood and prosperity--to cooperate.   

Today’s world is ripe with challenges such as climate change, environmental mismanagement, and other disasters, man-made and natural, but it is by creative problem solving through information sharing and collaborative efforts between individuals, organizations, sectors, and nations that we create the solutions to these problems.  We cannot afford to neglect our ecosystems that produce medicines, sustenance, air, water, and the basic elements of our innovations.  Neglect can lead to environmental strains that cause political instability, economic stagnation, and ultimately conflict. 

With regards to Oil Spills, we have seen how quickly they can become an international problem with incidents such as the Exxon Valdez spill and the more recent Prestige Tanker spill.  The issues of territorial waters, flags of convenience, and ecosystem disruption in these cases quickly made them a regional problem and a global one shortly thereafter.  Scientists say that the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill are still being felt today. 

The Indian Ocean island nations, including Mauritius and Seychelles, aren’t strangers to cooperation on environmental security, particularly for oil spill response.  Both nations understand that workshops like these-- where information is exchanged among all the stakeholders-- ensures a sustained and serious response whenever a crisis strikes.  We, at the Embassy, are grateful to have contributed to this particular exercise as it helps in the effort to protect the livelihood of the Indian Ocean--its ecosystems.  Seychelles’ fishery industry and its oil tanker industry depend on safety when oil is transported through its waters and around the globe. The success of Mauritius’ Sustainable Island (or the Maurice Ile Durable) plan for progress depends heavily on the response and safety procedures implemented by the people in this room.  I trust that the skills built and exchanges had while in this course will serve you well when you are performing your tasks; and serve your country well if a crisis were to ever happen on your watch. 

There are major sea lanes and thoroughfares that come through your area, so you have a lot of responsibility to protect not only your homeland and territorial waters, but also global trade and commerce.  I have faith in your professionalism and from what I heard from the trainers on what you already know about salvage operations, booming and mooring, shoreline response, and a whole list of other terms too technical for me to understand, I trust that the region is in good hands. 

We at the U.S. Embassy understand that cooperation among nations and regions to solve environmental problems advances stability, prosperity, and peace.  We remain a steadfast partner to Mauritius when it comes to Environmental Security.  We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate and provide assistance in this area.  In an April 2009 speech President Obama said:  “We not only acknowledge the environment's central role in the development of our Nation but also recognize the strong ecological interdependence among nations.”  I would echo the President’s statement and encourage us all to work together to protect ourselves, our children, and our earth for a prosperous tomorrow.

With that said, this workshop is a testament to our shared commitment to pursue environmental security with our partners and we would like to commend all of the graduates of the workshop and everyone here for this excellent initiative.  Congratulations.