Sea Alarm Foundation

We’re helping the Sea Alarm Foundation provide vital training programmes on oiled wildlife emergency response for the Mediterranean, Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic regions.

The Sea Alarm Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1999. Based in Brussels, the foundation is known for its worldwide work in improving response plans and capabilities for dealing with wildlife (such as marine birds, sea turtles and marine mammals) that are affected by emergencies such as oil spills.

The Sea Alarm Foundation also develops and advocates for the use of best practices in oiled wildlife response, as well as facilitating training opportunities for experts and volunteers in Europe and globally.

Acting as an independent and impartial facilitator, the foundation collaborates closely with other NGOs, governmental authorities, and the oil and maritime industries. This cooperation and understanding between key stakeholders ensure responses to marine wildlife emergencies are effective, professional, based on best practice and of the highest international standards.

What we are supporting

The Sea Alarm Foundation is currently focusing on increasing the number of trained and qualified emergency responders across Europe through its European Oiled Wildlife Assistance (EUROWA) Program.

The foundation aims to create sustainable national preparedness programs by engaging with the relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders and ensuring training courses are available more widely.

With our support, the Sea Alarm Foundation is building a EUROWA network of leading response organizations throughout Europe and facilitating wildlife emergency training and preparedness programs for responders in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic regions.

Creating an impact

The EUROWA programme has been successful in creating a series of training courses, manuals and role-specific exercises to educate a full range of responders – from volunteers and advanced responders, to specialists and management staff. The initiative is increasingly recognised by authorities across Europe and integrated into national preparedness programmes, such as in the Netherlands.

The programme's underlying concept of 'train the trainer' has enabled a quicker expansion of educated staff in different countries across Europe.

Once a core group of responders have been trained, they can continue providing the training they have completed to other responders in their area. This in turn increases the number of trained responders who are also able to share their learning with many others.

Learn more about the work of the Sea Alarm Foundation