EAtHC 16

The 16th plenary meeting of the Eastern Atlantic Hydrographic Commission will take place in Lisbon, at the premises of the Hydrographic Institute (IH) between September 28 and October 1, 2021.

The Commission is made up of the Member States of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) bordering the East Atlantic, Cameroon, France, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal and Spain and has as members the other riparian states in the region and other external states with interest/ responsibilities in the region.

Since its inception, the Commission has endeavored to encourage the participation of many non-IHO Member States in the Region. The main activities are: monitoring and improving the status of nautical information, improving the coverage of hydrographic surveys and nautical cartography, developing and implementing International nautical charts and electronic cartography coverage schemes, raising awareness of the importance of hydrography in the Region and promoting capacity building of states, as well as the sharing of information and knowledge. In the current decade, the activities of the Commission are of particular interest because many are associated with the United Nations Decade of the Oceans.

Portugal once again assumed the presidency of the Commission in September 2020 and until September 2022 in the person of Rear Admiral Carlos Ventura Soares, director-general of the Hydrographic Institute.