The guidebook was produced under the framework of a United Nations Development Account project entitled “Transport and trade connectivity in the age of pandemics: Contactless, seamless and collaborative UN solutions”. The work was carried out under the overall guidance of Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the UNCTAD Division on Technology and Logistics, and coordinated by Hassiba Benamara, Economic Affairs Officer, of the Division's Trade Logistics Branch.
Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue (lead consultant) and Mr. Nick Wildgoose (consultant) were the main authors, with substantive contributions from Jan Hoffmann, Frida Youssef, Hassiba Benamara and Agnese Raimondi of the UNCTAD Trade Logistics Branch, and input and feedback from Luisa Rodriguez and Hidenobu Tokuda, of the Branch's Transport Section, as well as from colleagues at the UNCTAD Human Resources Development Section of the TrainForTrade Programme.
The guidebook benefited from comments by the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) and Ti-insight and feedback received from industry stakeholders during the UNCTAD regional webinars on “COVID-19 and Maritime Transport” held in 2020 and 2021. The webinars were organized in close collaboration with the following United Nations regional economic commissions: Economic Commission for Africa, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
The guidebook was further enhanced by additional information gathered through an UNCTAD survey disseminated between May and July 2021 and which focused on “COVID-19 and Maritime Transport: Resilience-Building and Preparedness".
Guidance laid out in the guidebook also reflects feedback received during a validation meeting held in May 2022. The meeting brought together selected experts and industry stakeholders working in the field of transport, logistics and supply chain management, including the port industry, shipping, Government, academia and the insurance sector.
Special thanks are extended to the stakeholders who shared their views and provided valuable feedback, including from: the ports of Açu (Brazil) and Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium); Borderless Alliance; Empresa Multimodal; Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, International Association of Ports and Harbors; Institute of Risk Management; Ti-insight; A. P. Moller – Maersk; Zurich Insurance; Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa; Ports Management Association of West and Central Africa; and Tanger Med.
The guidebook was edited externally by Mark Bloch, and Kathleen Morf did the design and formatting.
For further information, please contact the UNCTAD Transport Section by email, at transport.section@unctad.org or visit the UNCTAD Transport Section website.