(2009). ODINAFRICA-III, Final Report 2004-2009. UNESCO: Paris. 30 pp.
Keyword
Marine/Coastal
Abstract
The Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa (ODINAFRICA) brings together marinerelated institutions from twenty five (25) Member States of the IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission of UNESCO from Africa.The earlier phases of development of ODINAFRICA aimed at enabling member states fromAfrica to get access to data available in other data centres, develop skills for manipulation ofdata and preparation of data and information products, and develop infrastructure for archival,analysis and dissemination of the data and information products. The focus was on preparingdatabases, and data and information products for integrated management of the coastalenvironments and resources, and in particular enabling the Member States to be able toaddress the key issues identified in the African Process: (i) coastal erosion, (ii) managementof key ecosystems and habitats, (iii) pollution, (iv) sustainable use ofliving resources, and (v)tourism. Each of the participating institutions has developed a suite of data and informationproducts that have been quality controlled, merged and availed through project website(www.odinafrica.org). These include: Directories of marine and freshwater professionals,Catalogues of marine related data sets, Marine Species data bases, library catalogues,catalogue of marine related publications from/about Africa.The goal of the current phase of ODINAFRICA is to improve data flows into the nationaloceanographic data and information centres in the participating countries, develop data andinformation products required for integrated management of the coastal areas of Africa, andincrease the delivery of services to end users.The following are the thematic work packages being implemented in the current phase ofODINAFRICA:Coastal Ocean Observing System: focuses on upgrading and expanding African network forinsitu measurements and monitoring of ocean variables especially sea level, provision of nearreal-time observations of ocean variables, and building adequate capacity for collection,analysis and management of sea-state variables. ODINAFRICA will install/upgrade at least12 tide stations. An additional 20 stations will be installed/upgraded by other organisationssuch as the - Global Sea Level Observing System and the Indian Ocean Tsunami EarlyWarning and Mitigation System - GLOSS/IOTWS, the Benguela Current Large MarineEcosytem project BCLME and the French Service Hydrographique et Oceanographique de laMarine - SHOM, bring the number of operational stations along the African coastline to overforty (40).Data and Information Management: focuses on further development and strengthening ofNational Oceanographic Data Centres (NODC) to manage data streams from the coastalocean observing network, upgrading infrastructure in the NODCs (including internet accessand computer systems), Integrating biogeographic data steams into NODC systems, Buildingcapacity for data and information managers for new NODCs established as part of thisproject, and Rescue of historical data.Product Development and end user communication and information delivery: focuses onidentification of end users of marine/coastal data/information products and their requirements,identification and development of set of core products to be prepared by each NODe. MarineBiodiversity databases have been developed covering mollusks, sponges and decapods, and anAfrican Marine Atlas providing access to a wide range of datasets and products formanagement of the marine and coastal areas of Africa.
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