Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa

1. Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa Mika Odido Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO UNESCO Nairobi Office (Regional Office for Science & Technology in Africa)

2. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO • International Oceanographic Data & Information Exchange programme (IODE) • Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa (ODINAFRICA).

3. 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.” • .

4. IOC Programmes • Ocean Sciences • ‘reducing scientific uncertainties about coastal and global ocean processes in the context of marine ecosystems’ • 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’ • 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)

5. IOC Programmes cont. • Ocean Governance ‘Increase the effectiveness of the governing bodies of the Commission and further develop the oceans governance issues • Capacity Building and TEMA ‘Further develop the capacity of Member States in marine scientific research for ocean and coastal management’

6. International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) • 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)

7. IODE Activities • GROUPS 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) • Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) • Global Oceanographic Data Archaeology and Rescue (GODAR) • Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD) Pilot Project • Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP) • MarineXML • MEDI (www.medi.org) • OceanExpert (www.oceanexpert.org) • OceanPortal (www.oceanportal.org) • AfricanOceanPortal (www.africanoceans.net) • OceanTeacher (www.oceanteacher.org) • Open source software development • Ocean Data and Information Networks : (a) ODINAFRICA – Africa; • (b) ODINCARSA – Carribean and South America; ( c) ODINCINDIO – Indian

8. 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

9. IOC Programmes Timely, free and unrestricted access to all data, associated meta data and products generated under the auspices of IOC programmes

10. 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

11. 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.

12. ODINAFRICA • Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa • ~ 40 institutions • 25 countries

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. ODINAFRICA – Basic Courses • Left: Marine Data Management • training session, Casablanca, Morocco • Below: Librarians during a training course in Cape Town Marine Information Management trainees

17. 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

18. 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

19. ODINAFRICA – Information Access • Bibliographic search services • Document delivery services • Development of library catalogue

20. 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

21. ODINAFRICA – Data Access • Data locator service • National Marine metadata-bases • Collection of all data related to the country’s waters from international data centres

22. ODINAFRICA – Data Access • Enrichment of database with locally available data • National Marine Atlas • National data CDs

23. ODINAFRICA – Challenges • Language differences (English, French, Portuguese) • Severe problem with communications • Below are Installation of VSAT link in Madagascar & Nigeria

24. ODINAFRICA – Challenges • Differences 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?)