CODEPEC Summit to focus on coastal and ports engineering in developing countries

The 7th International Summit on Coastal and Port Engineering in Developing Countries (COPEDEC), organised jointly by Dubai Municipality and the Brussels-based International Navigation Association (PIANC), will be held on 24-28 February 2008 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City. The event will draw more than 1000 marine engineers and scientists from developing countries.

Details of the conference were unveiled on 4th April in a press conference attended by Essa Al Maidour, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for General Projects Affairs and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the conference, Khalid Mohammed Al Zahed, Director of Maritime Transport Department at Roads and Transport Authority and vice-chairman of the committee, Ranjit Galappatti, Chairman of the International Organizing Committee, and Erik Vandeneede, President of PIANC.

Al Maidour said the overall aim of PIANC-COPEDEC is to provide an international forum where coastal and port engineers from developing countries can exchange know-how and experience amongst themselves and, crucially, with their colleagues from industrialised countries.

He added that the event will also consider ways of enabling developing countries to achieve a sustainable pool of professionals in these fields. "To encourage participation in the conference from developing countries, Dubai Municipality is offering 100 fellowships for delegates from 44 countries. All professionals and scientists living and working under a local labour contract in a developing country, as well as students from developing countries, are entitled to apply for fellowships. These fellowships will only be provided to individuals on application, not via institutions. Fellowship Application Forms may be downloaded from the conference website," Al Maidour said.

He added that marine engineers and scientists from the Arabian Gulf, and particularly Dubai, could also benefit from this significant event especially as the emirate enjoys a 70-km busy coastline, which includes a number of open beaches and large sea-ports.

"The event, which is regarded as the first of its kind in the Middle East, is highly significant as half of the world's population live within 60 kilometers of the coastal regions. For the Gulf region in general and Dubai in particular, the event's significance is far more noticeable at a time when massive development projects are being undertaken along coastal areas. The total cost of the coastal projects in the Gulf region alone is estimated at US$100 billion,"

Al Maidour said.

He noted that ports are being developed around the world because of the commercial potentials they offer. Recreational potentials of beaches are also being tapped now to attract tourists.

Khalid Al Zahed said the conference will also enable the developing countries to have a sustainable human resource pool of coastal and port development and marine environment professionals.

He noted that the seventh edition of the conference would be a major boost to international coastal and port engineers and scientists and provide them an opportunity to showcase coastal projects in their countries and building capacity in countries in transition in this important field of engineering.

Al Zahed added that the main theme of the event is "Best Practices in the Coastal Environment" and it will discuss topics like coastal and port infrastructure engineering, ports and marina management and planning, development of sea frontage and coastal stabilization, monitoring of beach movement, coastal areas and environment management, coastal areas risks management and short-distance ship cargo and marine navigation.

An international panel of world renowned marine scientists will review submitted technical papers to ensure those selected display scientific excellence and appropriateness to the conference themes. It is expected that several papers relevant to the ambitious marine activities in Dubai will be presented.

For the first time in its history, the 2008 edition of PIANC-COPEDEC will host a concurrent exhibition of products and services, under the title: Waterfront 2008.

Ranjit Galapatti said the conference comes to Dubai at a time when the positive economic benefits that could accrue from waterfront development are being recognised in both rich and poor countries. The eyes of the world coastal engineering community have for some time been on the ground-breaking developments in Dubai.

"We all have much to learn from the Dubai experience. No doubt Dubai also has to gain from discussions among this congregation of the world's expert coastal engineers. Dubai is at crossroads of air travel in the old world. We expect a record participation - after having received a record number of abstracts from prospective participants," he said.

He noted that the COPEDEC was established as a complementary forum to the "International Conference on Coastal Engineering" (ICCE). The previous conferences were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka (1983), Mombassa, Kenya (1987), Beijing, China (1991), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1995), Cape Town, South Africa (1999), and Colombo, Sri Lanka (2003).

Erik Vandeneede said PIANC, which is a non-profit organisation that merged with COPEDEC to promote the maintenance and operation of inland and maritime navigation, was founded in 1885 and is the oldest international association concerned with the technical aspects of navigation and it has nearly 3500 members who include private individuals, corporations and national governments from 80 countries including 22 national sections overseeing regional activities. This includes several membership organizations in the Arab world.