Johannesburg — LOUISIANA is a long way from Langebaan, but the environmental disaster that unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig has important lessons for SA and its neighbours.

It is estimated at least 4,1-million barrels of crude oil gushed into the ocean over the 87 days it took to stem the flow from the damaged wellhead. That is 16 times more oil than was spilled into the sea by the oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, which ran aground off the Alaskan coast in 1989, causing immense damage to marine and coastal environments.

Many will remember the devastation caused by the sinking of the iron-ore carrier, Treasure, off SA's Melkbosstrand in 2000. About 1400 tons of heavy fuel oil leaked from the Treasure, prompting a massive seabird rescue operation that saw about 39 000 penguins, cormorants and gulls cleaned and rehabilitated, or moved away from breeding colonies until the oil slick had dissipated.

Although the oil and gas industry in SA is small compared with the Gulf of Mexico, our country is situated at the interface of the Atlantic and Indian oceans and is an important stop on one of the oldest navigation routes in the world. About 120-million tons of oil pass around the Cape every year; another 19-million tons of crude oil are imported to SA each year.

With these volumes of oil being traded around our coast, the threat of a major spill is ever present. SA has a comprehensive National Contingency Plan for the prevention and combating of pollution from ships and offshore installations and is capable of responding quickly to oil pollution.

The environmental disaster that has unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico has reminded us how important it is to work consistently with our partners in the Department of Transport to keep the plan up to date and as practical and effective as possible.

Collaboration with our neighbours, through the sharing of knowledge, information and experience, is another way in which we can equip ourselves for marine disasters.

Co-operation with Namibia and Angola has advanced considerably over the past decade and good regional relations strengthen our hand when it comes to responding to marine pollution and other environmental problems on the west coast. Since 2007, SA has participated in the Benguela Current Commission, an intergovernmental structure that promotes the sustainable use of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Stretching from Port Elizabeth to northern Angola, it is one of the most productive marine ecosystems on earth and is richly endowed with resources, including important commercial fisheries, large reserves of oil and gas, and marine diamonds.

The Benguela Current Commission was established to protect the economic and ecological integrity of the Benguela region.

The value of the commission's transboundary scientific and capacity- building initiatives cannot be stressed enough. Collaboration between scientists, managers and technical staff in the three countries allows for sharing of knowledge, experience and ideas, and the building of a regional network of experts who can advise the three governments on how best to manage the valuable resources of the Benguela, now and into the future.

Angola is Africa's largest oil producer, with an increasing proportion of the country's oil production coming from ultradeep wells similar to those in the Gulf of Mexico.

It makes sense for SA and Namibia to join Angola in building a team of skilled, committed and experienced officials, who can offer sound advice on how best to manage the economic activities that take place in the Benguela from an environmental point of view. This is what the commission is helping us to do.

The resources of the Benguela are highly significant for the socioeconomic development of all three countries and it would be easy to damage them in the same way that the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has devastated coastlines and communities. We owe it to the people of the Benguela region to continue working with our neighbours to manage the environment knowledgeably and sensibly.

Sonjica is Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs.