The RESPONDER Project provides EUROWA trainings for the first time in Spain
The project “RESPONDER: a training program for response to oiled marine wildlife on the Spanish coasts” began earlier this year, with the translation into Spanish, and printing of, EUROWA’s Basic and Advanced manuals and official training presentations.
Financial support for the Responder project is provided by the Fundación Biodiversidad, from the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge and the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Regional Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), and the collaboration of the Council of Rural Affairs and Territorial Cohesion of the Government of Asturias.
Approximately 150 people have attended the courses so far, where they were taught how a general oiled wildlife response works and is organized according to EUROWA’s standards and protocols, what the different steps in oiled wildlife rehabilitation are and how they work, what happens to an oiled bird when it reaches the shores and how to begin appropriate treatment for the maximum probability of success.
Attendees to these courses will now be able to work hand in hand with any personnel trained to EUROWA standards anywhere in Europe, opening the possibility to exchange staff and experts between European countries should a member state request the assistance of the EUROWA Network due to an incident with oiled wildlife.
During the first months of 2022, one further Basic course, two Advanced Beach courses and one Advanced Rescue Centre course will be organized in Catalonia before the project is finished.