Many international programmes have either developed or changed emphasis to focus on climate change and variability, social needs, and ecosystems. This article summarizes some of the major international projects and programmes in science in the marine and coastal environment and attempts to expand the readers’ TSLAG (i.e. Three to Six Letter Acronym Glossary).
The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) is a research programme that is focused on acquiring basic scientific knowledge about the interactive processes of biology and chemistry of the earth as they relate to Global Change. The goal of the programme is to describe and understand the interactive physical, chemical and biological processes that regulate the total Earth system, the unique environment that it provides for life, the changes that are occurring in this system, and the manner in which they are influenced by human actions. The programme provides an international, inter-disciplinary framework for the conduct of global change science, a means for co-ordinating activities in various scientific disciplines and for fostering the integration of results towards the development of a holistic picture of global processes and how change affects them. The IGBP takes neither a political nor a policy stance on issues relating to global change, but aims to provide the best possible scientific information for input to the policy process.
Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC) is one of the core projects of the IGBP project, and aims to advance the understanding of the structure and functioning of the global ocean ecosystem, its major subsystems, and its response to physical forcing so that a capability can be developed to forecast the responses of the marine ecosystem to global change. GLOBEC was initiated by SCOR and the IOC of UNESCO in 1991 and GLOBEC became part of IGBP in 1995.
DIVERSITAS is an international programme of biodiversity science and aims to link biology, ecology and social sciences. It produces socially relevant knowledge to support sustainable use of biodiversity. DIVERSITAS enlarges and strengthens scientific networks to facilitate the identification of global research priorities, allocate resources, facilitate knowledge transfer, and support capacity building. The programme aims to provide government agencies and policy makers with the information required to make sound decisions on biodiversity issues.
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is coordinating international efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). This emerging public infrastructure is interconnecting a diverse and growing array of instruments and systems for monitoring and forecasting changes in the global environment. This “system of systems” supports policymakers, resource managers, science researchers and many other experts and decision-makers. GEO is constructing GEOSS on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan for the period 2005 to 2015. The Plan defines a vision statement for GEOSS, its purpose and scope, expected benefits, and the nine “Societal Benefit Areas” of disasters, health, energy, climate, water, weather, ecosystems, agriculture and biodiversity.
GEOSS will yield a broad range of societal benefits, notably:
• Reducing loss of life and property from natural and human-induced disasters;
• Understanding environmental factors affecting human health and well-being,
• Improving the management of energy resources,
• Understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change,
• Improving water resource management through better understanding of the water cycle,
• Improving weather information, forecasting and warning,
• Improving the management and protection of terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems,
• Supporting sustainable agriculture and combating desertification, and
• Understanding, monitoring and conserving biodiversity.
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is the oceanographic component of GEOSS. It is a system of programmes, each of which is working on different and complementary aspects of establishing an operational ocean observation capability for all of the world's nations. UN sponsorship and UNESCO assemblies assure that international cooperation is always the first priority of the Global Ocean Observing System. GOOS is designed to:
• Monitor, understand and predict weather and climate
• Describe and forecast the state of the ocean, including living resources
• Improve management of marine and coastal ecosystems and resources
• Mitigate damage from natural hazards and pollution
• Protect life and property on coasts and at sea
• Enable scientific research
The International Council for Science (ICSU) is a non-governmental organization representing a global membership that includes both national scientific bodies (116 members) and international scientific unions (30 members). Through this extensive international network, ICSU provides a forum for discussion of issues relevant to policy for international science and the importance of international science for policy issues and undertakes the following core activities:
• Planning and coordinating interdisciplinary research to address major issues of relevance in both science and society;
• Actively advocating for freedom in the conduct of science, promoting equitable access to scientific data and information, and facilitating science education and capacity building;
• Acting as a focus for the exchange of ideas, the communication of scientific information and the development of scientific standards;
• Supporting in excess of 600 scientific conferences, congresses and symposia per year all around the world, as well as the production of a wide range of newsletters, handbooks, learned journals and proceedings.
ICSU also helps create international and regional networks of scientists with similar interests and maintains close working relationships with a number of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Because of its broad and diverse membership, the Council is increasingly called upon to speak on behalf of the global scientific community and to act as an advisor in matters ranging from ethics to the environment.
The International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) is an international, interdisciplinary science programme, dedicated to promoting, catalysing and coordinating research, capacity-development and networking on the human dimensions of global environmental change. It takes a social science perspective on global change and works on the interface between science and practice. IHDP is a joint programme of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the United Nations University (UNU).
IHDP's programme is designed around three main objectives :
• cutting edge research
• capacity development and international scientific networking
• Science policy interaction
Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (IMBER) is an IGBP-SCOR project focusing on ocean biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems. The IMBER vision is to provide a comprehensive understanding of, and accurate predictive capacity for, ocean responses to accelerating global change and the consequent effects on the Earth System and human society.
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) was created in 1960 to promote international cooperation and coordinate programmes in research, sustainable development, protection of the marine environment, capacity-building for improved management, and decision-making. It assists developing countries in strengthening their institutions to obtain self-driven sustainability in marine sciences. On a regional level, it is coordinating the development of tsunami early warning and mitigation systems in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. It also facilitates interagency coordination through the UN-Oceans mechanism and works with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in establishing a process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment.
SCOR is the leading non-governmental organization for the promotion and coordination of international oceanographic activities. SCOR does not have the resources to fund research directly; therefore, SCOR science activities focus on promoting international cooperation in planning and conducting oceanographic research, and solving methodological and conceptual problems that hinder research. Scientists from the thirty-five nations participate in SCOR working groups and scientific steering committees for the large-scale ocean research projects. As a non-governmental organization, individuals representing national SCOR committees, not national governments, are the members of SCOR. SCOR promotes capacity building for marine scientists in developing countries and countries with economies in transition through special efforts to include such scientists in SCOR activities, through travel grants to as many as 75 individuals each year, and through a new activity on Regional Graduate Schools of Oceanography and Marine Environmental Sciences.
The International SOLAS (Surface Ocean - Lower Atmosphere Study) Project is an international research initiative which has a primary objective to: "achieve quantitative understanding of the key biogeochemical-physical interactions and feedbacks between the ocean and atmosphere, and of how this coupled system affects and is affected by climate and environmental change." The 1500 + SOLAS scientists are affiliated with one of the 24 different National Networks. The National Networks all focus their research under three broad research foci under the direction of the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC). This is done through a Science Plan and Implementation Strategy; a directive that outlines the goals and scope of the SOLAS organisation.
The global change SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training, START, fosters regional networks of collaborating scientists and institutions in developing countries to conduct research on regional aspects of environmental change, assess impacts and vulnerabilities to such changes, and provide information to policy-makers. START also provides a wide variety of training and career development opportunities for young scientists. The START Scientific Steering Committee guides the development and implementation of START programs. The START-SSC also serves as an informal forum for discussion between representatives of governmental and non-governmental initiatives. Members of the START-SSC include scientists associated with the three sponsoring programs (IGBP, WCRP, and IHDP) as well as individuals connected with national, multi-lateral and intergovernmental bodies.
The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) aims to determine: 1) the predictability of climate and 2) the effect of human activities on climate. These two objectives underpin and directly address the needs of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and contribute to many other international policy instruments. To achieve its objectives, the WCRP adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, organizes large-scale observational and modelling projects and facilitates focus on aspects of climate too large and complex to be addressed by any one nation or single scientific discipline.
SANCOR’s research programme, Society, Ecosystems And Change (SEAChange), has the same underlying philosophies as these international programmes. Therefore, the research generated under this programme will provide support to these international initiatives and will raise the status of South Africa's contribution to them.
Photo credit: Image by Getty Images/Darren Wamboldt
