GMES and Africa Community head for a second continental marine and coastal services Workshop

Following the inaugural service workshop held in July 2022 in Accra, Ghana, the African Union Commission is committed to organizing the second workshop in Cape town, South Africa, from May 22 to 24, 2024. All consortia responsible for implementing the Marine and Coastal areas services, along with partners, Regional Economic Communities, and European Technical Institutions, are invited to participate.




In accordance with the program agreement with the European Commission and as outlined in the Description of the Action document for GMES & Africa Phase II, two continental workshops per service will be organized over the course of the 4-year program. The purpose is to foster national, regional, and global collaborations essential for enhancing the development, management, utilization, and exchange of geospatial information. This includes integrating in situ and statistical data, as well as other information, to generate new knowledge and deliver products and services that meet the needs of beneficiaries.

Related consortia

There are 2 consortia implementing Marine and Coastal areas services as follows:

1. 
Name of the Project
  • Marine and Coastal Areas Management in North and West Africa (MarCNoWA)
Consortium led by 
  • UoG
Applications:
  • Monitoring and Forecasting of Oceanographic Variables
  • Forecast of Ocean State and Weather Conditions
  • Mapping of Potential Fishing Zones (PFZs)
  • Coastal Ecosystems Mapping and Monitoring
  • Coastal vulnerability mapping
  • Oil spill monitoring and warning
Website
Geoportals

2.
Name of the Project
  • Marine and Coastal Operations for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (MarCOSIO)
Consortium led by 
  • CSIR
Applications  
  • Marine and Maritime Service: Ship traffic monitoring +
  • Safety at sea
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture: Fisheries support +
  • Aquaculture support
  • Coastal Monitoring Service: Water quality monitoring +
  • Coral bleaching monitoring
Website & geoportal

Rationale and Objectives

GMES & Africa phase II is leveraging the accomplishments of phase I. 
Consortia are tasked with enhancing existing services in their respective regions, with a focus on making them user-driven and sustainable both technically and financially. Mature services that prove their effectiveness will be expanded to other African regions through cross-fertilization mechanisms. 

Therefore, the PMU is organizing this workshop to promote inter-regional cooperation among consortia and to capitalize on successful services, provide updates on the progress of the GMES & Africa program and its consortia projects, as well as to share experiences and insights on thematic areas from the perspective of end-users. Additionally, the workshop aims to review cross-fertilization efforts and explore opportunities for collaboration with other Earth Observation (EO) initiatives in Africa.

Expected results

  1. Gain insights into the activities and achievements of GOOS Africa and UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development;
  2. Receive updates on the status of consortia projects, including progress made in the past two years and projections for the future.
  3. Understand how GMES & Africa services are tailored to meet the needs of end-users, with specific examples provided for each thematic area.
  4. Review the recommendations and achievements of cross-fertilization efforts and develop concrete plans for further collaboration and activities.
  5. Explore and learn from other EO initiatives in Africa, with opportunities for networking and sharing best practices.

Agenda/Methodology

The 3-day agenda is structured into 5 main sessions:
  1. Update on GOOS Africa and UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development: Representatives from these networks are expected to provide an overview of their activities to date.
  2. Update on Consortia Projects: We are now past the midpoint of the program timeline. The audience expects the Consortia to provide updates on their activities from the past two years (2022 and 2023) and their projections for the years ahead (2024 and 2025). These updates should be based on the monitoring template indicators.
  3. Update on thematic areas from the perspective of end-users: GMES & Africa focuses on developing services tailored to end-users' needs. It is expected that consortia will share stories of end-users benefiting from the services in each thematic area. Consortia must pick one user for each thematic area and provide the following information during their presentations:
    1. Who is the end-user (organization, position, mandate/role)?
    2. What is the context in which the consortium engaged the end-user (type of meeting, when, where, frequency of engagement)?
    3. What was the end-user's need?
    4. What product did the consortium design to address the end-user's need? This should include details of data access (what data? which infrastructure?), processing chain (how to process the data? Which environment? What product? Format? Frequency?), dissemination (which infrastructure? who developed it? Status of functionality)
    5. How was the end-user trained to use the product?
    6. How does the end-user access and utilize the information service/products?
    7. How does the consortium collect end-user feedback?
    8. What impact does the service have on optimizing the end-user's daily work?
    9. What outreach and communication activities does the consortium undertake to raise awareness about the service and generate more needs?
  4. Update on Cross-fertilization Efforts: Following the first service workshop on Marine and Coastal Areas in Accra, Consortia worked in groups to assess cross-fertilization needs and generate recommendations for future activities. This session will review the status of these recommendations, assess achievements to date, and plan concrete cross-fertilization activities for the remaining program period.
  5. Update on Other EO Initiatives: This session provides a platform for other Earth Observation initiatives in Africa to showcase their work and inspire Consortia implementing the GMES & Africa program. 

Participants

The workshop is expected to have approximately thirty participants, including:
  1. Representatives from the two Consortia responsible for implementing the Marine and Coastal Areas Services.
  2. Representatives from the five Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
  3. Representatives from GOOS Africa and UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
  4. Representatives from other EO initiatives Projects/Programs focusing on Marine and Coastal Areas.
  5. Personnel from the GMES & Africa Project Management Unit and various departments within the African Union Commission (AUC).

Attached docs


















Location: Le Cap, Afrique du Sud

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