|
The GOOS-Africa Program
The primary goal of GOOS AFRICA is the establishment of a Regional Ocean Observing and Forecasting System in Africa, which will contribute to the sustainable use and protection of its marine and coastal environments, and will enable improved management of the impacts of climate change.
The establishment of this System will assist, inter alia, with
- The effective management of coastal environments, controlling pollution and safeguarding human health;
- The support of the expanding economic activities in the coastal and offshore zones;
- The protection of the growing coastal populations, especially in the Great Harbour Cities of Africa, contributing to better quality of life.
- The effective management of living marine resources;
- The mitigation of natural disasters and extreme events.
A multidisciplinary approach to collecting the observations needed to forecast and interpret such events becomes imperative because of the linkages between ocean, earth and meteorological processes and climate change. Ocean processes can affect the economic values of African investments in:
- offshore and coastal oil and gas
- shipping and trade
- offshore and coastal mining
- coastal and offshore fisheries
- integrated coastal zone management
- monitoring and prediction
- seaside tourism
- public safety/health and protection of properties
- Early Warning Systems.
In short, the objectives of GOOS AFRICA are directly in line with objectives of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) as a whole, both in respect of the coastal ocean and the impacts of climate, and with the societal goals of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). (from the GOOS-Africa presentation at the GRF-IV, Guayaquil, Ecuador, November 2008)
More on GOOS-AFRICA (GOOS-Africa Strategic Plan and Activities 2008)
People in GOOS-Africa and Contact Information
|
History of GOOS-AFRICA
GOOS AFRICA was formally established and endorsed at the Pan African Conference on Sustainable Integrated Coastal Management held in Maputo, Mozambique in 1998. The PACSICOM recommendations included:
- The formation of an Africa wide network of national ocean data centres;
- Upgrading and expanding the existing network of stations for monitoring sea level rise; and
- The creation of a network of specialists trained in the use of data acquired by remote sensing from space satellite
In the ensuing years, GOOS AFRICA developed its Action Plan for the establishment of a Regional Ocean Observing and Forecasting System for the Integrated Management of Ocean Environments and Natural Disasters in Africa, ROOFS-AFRICA, which can be found at http://ioc.unesco.org/goos/africa/ROOFS-AFRICAPRoject2003.doc . This ambitious Action Plan put together modules on in situ measurements, remote sensing, modeling and forecasting, business partnerships and stakeholder involvement, interactive delivery systems and project management into an integrated whole.
The ROOFS-AFRICA proposal was developed at the same time as other initiatives; the IOC African process for the protection of the marine and coastal environment in sub-Saharan Africa, the UNIDO/UNEP/GEF Gulf of Guinea Large Marine Ecosystem, and the Ocean Data and Information Networks (ODINAFRICA) in East and in West Africa. Care was taken to avoid duplication of efforts between these proposals.
During the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, ROOFS-AFRICA was endorsed at the African Ministerial and Heads of States Conference and selected for inclusion in the Environmental Action Plan of the New Programme for African Development (NEPAD). Subsequently, the project was presented at the International Partnership Conference on the NEPAD Environmental Action Plan in Algiers, Algeria in December 2003. The project also contributes to the Millennium Development Goals, and to International Conventions and Agreements as they affect Africa. (from the GOOS-Africa presentation at the GRF-IV, Guayaquil, Ecuador, November 2008) |
