A new emergency response guide for the Northern Mariana Islands will help the region prepare for typhoons that cause marine debris.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program earlier this summer released its “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide.”
The guide “is the first published for the Pacific Region and aims to improve preparedness for responding to marine debris after typhoons and other disasters in the Commonwealth, such as Typhoon Mawar, which impacted the Commonwealth in late May with the most significant impacts on the island of Rota,” according to NOAA.
The Northern Mariana Islands are in a part of the Pacific Ocean referred to as “Typhoon Alley,” and disaster-related marine debris can cause major recovery problems, NOAA says:
“The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide describes how all levels of government and other organizations work together after disasters to respond to marine debris. The Guide identifies organization roles and responsibilities and includes an overview of permitting and compliance requirements that must be met before marine debris removal work begins. Its development is a product of a collaborative process with local organizations and an unprecedented level of community participation. Sixty stakeholders participated in a virtual workshop as part of the document’s development, and over thirty individuals participated in a hands-on exercise in Saipan to become familiar with the resource and its tools.”
You can read a copy of the guide at marinedebris.noaa.gov.
