The 29th Session of the IOC Assembly will take place at UNESCO Headquarters between 19 and 30 June. As is customary the Assembly will be invited to endorse the report of the 24th Session of the IODE Committee, as well as the recommendations included in that report.
Agenda item 6.2.1: International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange: 24th Session of IODE, 24–28 March 2017, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [Rule of Procedure 48.3]
You can find links to the IODE related documents that will be available to the Assembly here:
IOC/IODE-XXIV/3s Executive Summary Report of the Twenty-fourth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, 24–28 March 2017, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
IOC/IODE-XXIV6.3 IOC Communication and Outreach Strategy for Data and Information Management
IOC-XXIX/2 Annex 3 Addendum II (here as IOC/IODE-XXIV/6.2.1rev) Ocean Data and Information System – Concept Paper Summary (IOC External Audit Rec.15)
The Session was attended by 67 participants and was preceded by a one day scientific workshop.
The IODE Session adopted 4 decisions, 6 recommendations and 2 draft decisions for the upcoming IOC Assembly, including its work plan and budget for 2017 and 2018.
Nearly 100 representatives of 35 Small Islands and Developing States (SIDS), scientists as well as representatives from the UN and EU, with a special interest and expertise in the BBNJ process were brought together at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende and at the European Commission in Brussels during 7-9 March 2017. This workshop presented an opportunity to discuss capacity building needs and priorities of SIDS concerning the elements of a potential new UN Treaty to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The topics were transfer of technology, marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments and marine genetic resources. This workshop, co-organized by the Government of Belgium and UNESCO-IOC, was organized in light of preparing for the third Preparatory Committee meeting on BBNJ to be held next week 27 March to 8 April 2017 in New York.
Ambassador H.E. Mr Ahmed Sareer, Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and Permanent Representative of Maldives said “SIDS are large but vulnerable ocean states where the status of the ocean has a direct impact on their viability and development. Because of the interconnectivity of the islands with the ocean, the SIDS interests in a UN Treaty to protect our marine living resources go beyond just equitable sharing of benefits. Islands can only be Resilient when Oceans are Healthy”
The emphasis of the workshop was on Capacity Building and Transfer of Marine Technology (CB/TMT), a subject at the heart of the BBNJ negotiations. It was recognized that SIDS have their particular challenges and therefore need a specific model for CB/TMT. It was felt that the work of existing international organizations like the IOC of UNESCO and its OBIS data sharing platform are structures to build on, but SIDS also need to engage more in relevant decision fora as well as strengthen SIDS-SIDS cooperation and twinning with other parties.
With the rapid development of science and new technologies, the potential benefit from exploitation on the high seas and seabed area can be huge, but the complexity of the nature of the ocean is still poorly known. Establishing a robust process for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) as well as a network of Marine Protected Areas will be crucial to ensuring conservation and sustainability for the benefit of all. A new implementing agreement should not hamper marine science but should bring fairness in the sense that all Member States including SIDS can participate and benefit on an equitable basis. A new treaty provides an opportunity for SIDS in building a strong agreement to maximize participation, through consultation, transparency, open-access sharing of data and information, but also through building capacity in using the data and information to create knowledge.
Mr Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium said “Belgium hosts one of the IOC project offices, in the city of Ostend. The Project office is a global capacity building hub, where ocean experts from around the world meet and are trained in data and information management. It is the center of the world’s largest global database on marine biodiversity called “OBIS”. The Ocean Biogeographic Information System is recognized by the UN General Assembly and has the potential to become a data and information clearing house for BBNJ.”
The third meeting of the Steering Group for the OceanTeacher Global Academy took place in Ostend, between 21-23 February 2017. During this meeting the Regional Training Centres activities were assessed. The OTGA network of RTCs now includes Colombia, Senegal, Mozambique, Kenya, India and Malaysia, as well as Belgium. Three other RTCs (China, USA and South Africa) kept the Candidate status. A new Candidate RTC joined the network: INIOAS (Iran) will organise an OTGA training course in 2017. This will be very important for the network as it covers an underrepresented region. The Group agreed on the OTGA’s course calendar for the rest of 2017, which will be published soon on the IODE calendar/website. Some 20 courses are planned until the end of the year around the globe in 4 different languages. Two new Co-Chairs were elected: Aidy Muslim from Malaysia and Harrison Onganda from Kenya. The final version of the 3rd OTGA SG Meeting will be made available soon.
The meeting included a one day Moodle Refresher Workshop on how to better use the OceanTeacher e-Learning Platform.
The 2nd Session of the IODE Steering Group for the Caribbean Marine Atlas, 2nd phase was held in Cartagena, Colombia, organized by INVEMAR, the IOCARIBE and IODE Secretariats. The purpose of CMA-2 Project is sustainable operationalization of an online digital “Caribbean Marine Atlas” technology platform (http://www.caribbeanmarineatlas.org) in support of Integrated Coastal Zone Management - ICZM (with special attention to: coastal hazards, climate change, biodiversity & habitats, fisheries, landbased sources of pollution) and Ecosystem-based Management for CLME. The Caribbean Marine Atlas Platform allows you to browse through an extensive catalogue of data “layers” on a wide variety of topics and to create maps based on one or more of these “layers”. The Session reviewed the current status of the online Atlas as well as of the submission of data (layers) by the participating countries [more]
During one full week, Maputo (capital of Mozambique) and Quelimane (north Mozambique) were connected via videoconferencing in a first time ever experience: 2 classrooms attended the same course on Fundamentals of Ocean Data Management, a joint organisation from IODE's OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) and the Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique) with the support of the UNESCO Maputo Office.
The course, suported by the UNESCO/IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende, targeted participants from the African Portuguese-Speaking Countries (PALOP’s: Angola. Cape Verde, Guine, MOzambique and Sao Tome & Principe), an under-represented community in IOC capacity developemnet activities. However, applications from other countries were received, namely from Brazil, Spain, Macau, Madagascar, Morocco and Tunisia. 28 candidates from different sectors of marine and maritime services, spanning from academia, research, government, NGOs to private institutions were selected to attend the course.
The course provided a basis for oceanographic data and information management and applications. The participants had the opportunity to share experiences and establish partnerships for future collaboration between themselves and with the trainers.
Nearly 100 representatives of 35 Small Islands and Developing States (SIDS), scientists as well as representatives from the UN and EU, with a special interest and expertise in the BBNJ process were brought together at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Oostende and at the European Commission in Brussels during 7-9 March 2017. This workshop presented an opportunity to discuss capacity building needs and priorities of SIDS concerning the elements of a potential new UN Treaty to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The topics were transfer of technology, marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments and marine genetic resources. This workshop, co-organized by the Government of Belgium and UNESCO-IOC, was organized in light of preparing for the third Preparatory Committee meeting on BBNJ to be held next week 27 March to 8 April 2017 in New York.
The third meeting of the Steering Group for the OceanTeacher Global Academy took place in Ostend, between 21-23 February 2017.
