Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa

Mika OdidoIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO

UNESCO Nairobi Office (Regional Office for Science & Technology in Africa)

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO

International Oceanographic Data & Information Exchange programme (IODE)

Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa (ODINAFRICA).

IOC of UNESCO

Established in 1960:

“…….. to promote international cooperation and to coordinate programmes in research, services and capacity building,

in order to learn more about the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas

and to apply that knowledge for the improvement of management, sustainable development, the protection of the marine environment, and the decision-making processes of its Member States.”

.

IOC Programmes

1) Ocean Sciences‘reducing scientific uncertainties about coastal and global ocean

processes in the context of marine ecosystems’

2) Ocean Observing Systems‘Develop, within the Global Ocean and Global Climate

Observing Systems (GOOS and GCOS), the monitoring and forecasting capabilities needed for the management and development of the open and coastal ocean’

3) Ocean Services‘Development and strengthening of a global mechanism to

ensure full and open access to ocean data and information for all’- includes International Oceanographic Data & Information Exchange (IODE)

IOC Programmes cont.

4) Ocean Governance

‘Increase the effectiveness of the governing bodies of the Commission and further develop the oceans governance issues

5) Capacity Building and TEMA

‘Further develop the capacity of Member States in marine scientific research for ocean and coastal management’

International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE)

(i) Promotion of exchange of marine data and information (including metadata, products and information)

(ii) ensure the long-term archival, management and services of all marine data and information;

(iii) Promotion of the use of international standards, and develop or help in the development of standards and methods for the global exchange of marine data and information

(iv) assist Member States to acquire the necessary capacity to manage marine data and information and become partners in the IODE network; and

(v) support international scientific and operational marine programmes of IOC and WMO and their sponsor organizations with advice and data management services.

(full text at www.iode.org)

IODE ActivitiesGROUPS OF EXPERTS JCOMM/IODE Expert Team on Data Management Practices (ETDMP) GE on Biological and Chemical Data Management and Exchange

Practices (GE-BICH) GE on Marine Information Management (GE-MIM)

i) Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA)ii) Global Oceanographic Data Archaeology and Rescue (GODAR) iii) Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD) Pilot Projectiv) Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP)v) MarineXMLvi) MEDI (www.medi.org)vii) OceanExpert (www.oceanexpert.org)viii) OceanPortal (www.oceanportal.org)ix) AfricanOceanPortal (www.africanoceans.net)x) OceanTeacher (www.oceanteacher.org)xi) Open source software developmentxii) Ocean Data and Information Networks : (a) ODINAFRICA – Africa; (b) ODINCARSA – Carribean and South America; ( c) ODINCINDIO – Indian

IOC Data Policy

timely, free and unrestricted international exchange

‘Free and unrestricted’ = non-discriminatory and without charge. Where “Without charge”, means at no more than the cost of reproduction and delivery.

‘Timely’= sufficiently rapidly to be of value for a given application

As applied to: IOC programmes

Non-IOC programmes

Non-commercial use by research and education communities

IOC Programmes

Timely, free and unrestricted access to all data, associated meta data and products

generated under the auspices of IOC programmes

Non- IOC Programmes

Encourages timely, free and unrestricted exchange

Essential for application to the preservation of life Beneficial public use and protection of the ocean environment Forecasting of weather Operational forecasting of the marine environment Monitoring and modelling of climate Sustainable development in the marine environment

Research and Education Community

Encourages timely, free and restricted exchange on condition that:

Products or results of such use shall be published in open literature without delay

or restriction.

ODINAFRICA

1. Algeria 2. Angola 3. Benin 4. Cameroon 5. Comoros 6. Congo 7. Côte d'I voire 8. Egypt 9. Gabon 10. Ghana 11. Guinea 12. Kenya 13. Madagascar

14. Mauritania 15. Mauritius 16. Morocco 17. Mozambique 18. Namibia 19. Nigeria 20. Senegal 21. Seychelles 22. South Africa 23. Tanzania 24. Togo 25. Tunisia

Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa

- ~ 40 institutions

- 25 countries

ODINAFRICA- Objectives

get access to data available in other data centres

develop infrastructure for collection, archival, and analysis of data.

develop skills for manipulation of data and preparation of data and information products.

Coastal Observations

Establishment/upgrading of sea level stations, Installation of additional sensors Training on analysis & interpretation of sea level data.

LINKAGES TO TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING & MITIGATION SYSTEM

ODINAFRICA Infrastructure support

CORE SUPPORT

2 PC’s, printer, scanner for library

1 PC, printer for data centre

Internet Access

Mailing list to improve communication

Operational support

ODINAFRICA – Basic Courses

Left: Marine Data Management

training session, Casablanca, Morocco

Below: Librarians during a training course in Cape Town

Marine Information Management trainees

ODINAFRICA – Other training

Marine Biodiversity data management Numerical Modelling Website development training Remote Sensing GIS Applications

Generate products such as maps, atlases for Management of Coastal/Marine Environment and Resources

ODINAFRICA – Follow-up support

Using OceanTeacher system (http://www.oceanteacher.org)

internet-based (email) follow-up and support

maintaining an ‘ODINAFRICA Help Desk’

remedial training

internships and attachments

ODINAFRICA – Information Access

Bibliographic search services

Document delivery services

Development of library catalogue

ODINAFRICA – Information Access

Database of aquatic science publications on or from Africa

Electronic repository of marine related publication (https://doclib.uhasselt.be/odin)

Directory of marine/freshwater professionals

(http://ioc.unesco.org/afridir)

Directory of marine science related institutions

ODINAFRICA – Data Access

Data locator service

National Marine metadata-bases

Collection of all data related to the country’s waters from international data centres

ODINAFRICA – Data Access

Enrichment of database with locally available data

National Marine Atlas

National data CDs

ODINAFRICA – Challenges Language differences (English, French,

Portuguese)

Severe problem with communications

Below are Installation of VSAT link in Madagascar & Nigeria

ODINAFRICA – ChallengesDifferences in Focus of designated institution

Educational, Research, Resource Management

- Narrow focus e.g. Oceanography or Fisheries

- Broad coverage e.g. University (peripheral interest in marine

science???)

Differences in Size

one person dedicating only part time (Long term training difficult)

Several people

Difference in skill levels

Basic skills versus proficient (how do we organize training relevant to all?)