|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
INTERNATIONAL MARINE LAW EXPERT OPENS TRAINING CENTRE16th July 2002 The Hon Joseph Warioba, the President of the International Ocean Institute (IOI), will officially open the first regional centre of IOI in the world, and dedicate a new marine training centre for Asia and the Western Pacific on July 17 in Townsville. The Hon Warioba is a lawyer and expert in ocean policy and the Law of the Sea. He was one of 11 Judges on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (1996-99). He is a former Prime Minister of Tanzania (1985-90). The Hon Warioba is the President of the IOI which is a non-government marine organisation. The IOI trains upper-level government employees in ocean law issues; and coastal and fisheries managers in FAO code of conduct for sustainable fisheries. IOI also runs seminars for leaders in the Law of the Sea and Oceans Policy. IOI has 21 operational centres and affiliates around the world. The first and only regional centre for IOI began operating in the International Marine Project Activities Centre (IMPAC) which is a subsidiary company of CRC Reef Research Centre in Townsville in April 2002. IOI –Australia is a Regional Centre for Australia and the Western Pacific. It oversees work in Asia and the Pacific Islands and networks with IOI offices in Fiji, Indonesia and Thailand. The Hon Warioba will dedicate a new marine training centre in IOI-Australia to Elisabeth Mann Borgese who started the IOI in 1972. Born in Germany in 1918, Mann Borgese was at the Center for Democratic Institutions (California, USA) when she launched her ocean project which led to the establishment of the IOI. She was a consultant to UNEP, UNESCO and the World Bank and was awarded the UN Sasakawa Environment Prize, Francis of Assisi Environment Prize and the Order of Canada. She wrote more than a dozen books and many research papers. She died in 2002. The Elisabeth Mann Borgese Training Centre will be used by IOI – Australia and by the UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea TRAIN-SEA-COAST program to train participants from Asia and the Pacific Islands about the Law of the Sea and sustainable fisheries management. The first course about Law of the Sea is likely to be offered early in 2003. The Hon Warioba, The Hon Mr Wilson Tuckey (Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government), Mr Peter Lindsay MP (Federal Member for Herbert) and Ms Ann Bunnell (Deputy Mayor, Townsville) will be at the official opening of IOI – Australia and dedication of the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Training Centre. The official ceremony will be at IMPAC, 6th floor, Northtown Tower, 280 Flinders St, Townsville on Wednesday 17 July at 11am. For more information: |
