CEDA Environmental Commission (CEC) was invited to take part in a one-day seminar on best practice in dredged material management. The event on 23rd May, in Madrid, Spain, was hosted by Puertos del Estado and its outcomes will feed into the revision of the Spanish Dredged Material Guidelines.

At a well-received and very lively event, a specially invited audience of Spanish and CEDA international experts in dredged material management, some of which were involved in developing the Spanish Dredged Material Guidelines, shared their knowledge and challenges. Presentations covering sustainable solutions from technical, economic and environmental angles, fuelled the debate and panel discussions. Delegates represented organisations including government agencies, port authorities, consultants and dredging contractors. Among them were 35 experts from Spain, from 12 port authorities and 6 other organisations, including Puertos del Estado, CEDEX and Magrama. The event was in Spanish and English and the translators did an outstanding job providing simultaneous translation throughout.

CEC speakers were: Rebecca Gardner (Anchor QEA – USA), Pol Hakstege (Hakstege Consultancy – the Netherlands), Henrich Röper (Hamburg Port Authority – Germany), Grazyna Sapota (Maritime Institute Gdansk – Poland) and Anna Csiti (CEDA the Netherlands).

Members of the CEC were pleased to have such an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge, and provide input into the amended Spanish Guidelines and Annex VI. As an added bonus, the event was also a source of useful examples for the new CEDA Information Paper on Beneficial Use of Dredged Materials.