The African Section of the Central Dredging Association (CEDA) will organise its second international Dredging Days in Tangiers, Morocco on the theme “Protection of the Coastline, Dredging and Sustainable Development” from 1 to 3 November 2006.
During the last century, Europe focused dredging works on maintenance issues for ports and navigational fairways. Today, dredging interests extend to all facets of intervention works on the seabed, either for the restructuring or maintenance of facilities, aggregate extraction, submarine structures, beach nourishment, and the protection of eroded areas. Smart dredging has become a crucial tool for economic and sustainable development.
In Africa, sustainable development will come to the forefront as trade exchanges increase, bringing about direct impacts on the environment. Indeed the economic growth occurring on the coastline places a strong pressure on it. Aggregate extraction for the construction industry is one of the main causes of damage to precious ecosystems. In that context, the only alternative that is available to decision makers is to reconcile this growth with coastline protection and find dredging solutions for the production of marine aggregates with a view to protect the shore lines in ways that are commonly used in Europe and elsewhere.
Therefore, in 2006 the Dredging Days provide an opportunity for contact and exchange of knowledge and expertise for Euro- Africans and others on problems relating to coastline protection and economic growth. This event reveals the international, technical, and scientific dimension of the programme and aims to attract the attention of marine researchers and professionals, university researchers, and high level civil servants from European and African countries in order to promote know-how and knowledge and enrich experience through concrete applications.
The CEDA-AS Dredging Days 2006 extend over three days (1-3 November 2006). They will focus on aspects related to the problems of dredging and sustainable development. On the first day there will be presentations and discussions on the dilemma of economic growth and shore deterioration. The second day will be devoted to the perspectives of economic growth and dredging needs. The third day will be reserved for technical visits to large scale-projects such as the new junction port of Tangiers-med on the Mediterranean coast.
The conference will be complemented by a dredging exhibition staged next to the technical session room. This exhibition will give companies and organisations the opportunity to reach a targeted audience of existing and potential clients, international experts and decision makers. Conference delegates will be able to take their refreshments in this exhibition during the breaks. Space is limited and will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. The floor plan and up-to-date booking information is available from the CEDA-AS Secretariat.
A special programme has been arranged for the accompanying persons on Wednesday and Thursday, 2-3 November. Participants can choose from various options such as full day visits to attractive cities such as Chaouen, Tetouan or Asilah or a half-day visit to Tangiers.
There will be ample opportunities for delegates, exhibitors, and partners to socialise and network with colleagues during the three days in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere.
The 2nd announcement brochure with the detailed programme and registration information will be issued in July. Members of CEDA will receive a copy by post. For detailed information on registration fees and hotels, please visit the events page of the CEDA web site: http://www.dredging.org.
