Establishment
The IODE Steering Group for the International Coastal Atlas Network (SG-ICAN) was established through Recommendation IODE-XXII.12 (see below).
Members
The membership of the Steering Group can be found HERE.
Sessions
2nd Session: The 2nd Session of the Steering Group was held in conjunction with the 7th ICAN Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa, 19-20 April 2015. See more/.
1st Session
Recommendation IODE-XXII.12
THE IODE INTERNATIONAL COASTAL ATLAS NETWORK PROJECT (IODE/ICAN)
The IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange,
Acknowledging the importance of atlases as interdisciplinary products that assist decision makers,
Noting with appreciation that ICAN has already influenced, guided and informed users on development and use of coastal and marine web atlases, through periodic workshops and international conferences held between 2006-2009, and in 2011,
Further noting that ICAN members have produced a suite of open source tools for creating integrated web atlases and a major peer-reviewed published guide,
Recommends the establishment of the IODE International Coastal Atlas Network (IODE/ICAN) Project with the Terms of Reference as attached in Annex A to this Recommendation;
Recommends the establishment of the IODE Steering group for the IODE/ICAN Project with the Terms of Reference as attached in Annex B to this Recommendation;
Urges Member States and donors to support the development of IODE/ICAN.
Annex A to Recommendation IODE-XXII.11
Terms of Reference of the IODE International Coastal Atlas Network (IODE/ICAN) Project
Objectives of the Project
The strategic goal of the IODE International Coastal Atlas Network Project is to encourage and help facilitate the development of digital atlases of the global coast, based on the principle of distributed, high-quality data and information, at local, regional, national or international scale. This will be achieved by sharing knowledge and experience among atlas developers in order to find common solutions for coastal and marine web atlas development while ensuring maximum relevance and added value for users. Many of these atlases will play an important role in informing national and regional decision- and policy-making across several themes, including:
- Marine spatial planning
- Climate change impacts, coastal vulnerability
- Coastal governance (boundaries, protected areas, etc.)
- Coastal conservation and protected areas management
- Coastal hazards monitoring and planning
- Coastal disaster management and mitigation
- Population pressures
- Resource availability and extraction
The Participants in the Project
All experts previously involved in ICAN are invited to participate in the Project, as well as other relevant experts designated by IOC Member States.
Annex B to Recommendation IODE-XXII.11
Terms of Reference of the IODE Steering Group for the IODE International Coastal Atlas Network (IODE/ICAN) Project
Objectives
The SG-ICAN shall:
- Advise the IODE Committee on the global vision, mission, policy and strategy, including partnerships of the IODE/ICAN project with IOC and other projects/organizations;
- Advise the IODE Committee on IODE/ICAN’s strategy for its sustainability and further development including resource mobilization;
- Assist with the preparation and implementation of work plans, and review progress;
Membership
The Project will be managed by an IODE Steering Group for IODE ICAN (SG-ICAN), initially composed of members of the former ICAN Steering Group and Management Working Group, the project coordinators of the Caribbean Marine Atlas and African Marine Atlas, as well as representatives from other regions.
Latest News
The IODE Programme Component, OceanTeacher Global Academy is seeking a consultant for 8 months
Please find the requirements here
This contract would run from 15 April until 15 December 2024.
Deadline to apply is 31st March 2024 Extended till 7 April 2024- contact point: Mr Peter Pissierssens (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
OBIS has a key role in several new projects that use eDNA or aim to further improve this technology for biological monitoring and we are glad to announce that we now have two knowledgeable staff members in our OBIS secretariat who are experts in eDNA: Dr Emilie Boulanger (consultant) and Dr Saara Suominen (project appointment).
Dr Saara Sumominen, after more than 3 years working as a consultant for us with projects like PacMAN and eDNA expeditions, now joined the OBIS secretariat on a project appointment contract basis to help implement 3 Horizon Europe projects (Marco-Bolo, eDNAquaPlan and DTO-BioFlow), coordinate the final scientific report of eDNA expeditions in UNESCO marine world heritage sites, and further develop the capacity to manage eDNA projects at OBIS.
Saara can be reached by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
More information on Saara's background see: https://obis.org/2020/09/15/saara/
Dr Emilie Boulanger joined us as a consultant and will support us with implementing two Horizon Europe projects: Marco-Bolo and eDNAquaPlan. Some of these tasks include (i) reviewing protocols and SOPs utilized for eDNA monitoring, (ii) testing bioinformatic workflows and comparing outputs across marker and taxonomic types, (iii) establish standards for genetic reference libraries and eDNA data repositories, (iv) aligning databases for enhanced interoperability, and (v) addressing the infrastructure and services for aquatic biodiversity monitoring using eDNA.
Emilie has a background in biodiversity conservation and marine molecular ecology. For her PhD at the University of Montpellier, her work focused on applying molecular methods to study the genetic and species diversity of fish populations and communities in the Mediterranean Sea. During her following PostDoc experience at the Aix-Marseille University, she applied her research experience towards teaching as well as developing monitoring projects coupling environmental DNA metabarcoding with direct species observations. She is passionate about the ocean, knowledge dissemination and projects that bridge scientific innovation with environmental conservation and policy.
Emilie can be reached by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We received the news that Dr J.R. Wilson (Ron) has passed away.
Dr J.R. Wilson was Director of the Marine Environmental Data Service of the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. He was IODE Chair between 1992 and 1996 and chaired the 15th Session of the IODE Committee held in Athens, Greece. Dr Wilson was also GTSPP Project Leader and MEDS hosted the RNODC for drifting buoy data. Many of us remember Ron as a kind and very experienced colleague, always ready to advise and assist.
We offer our condolences to Ron's family.
(picture of the IODE-XV Session with Ron behind the Chairman IODE sign)
The IODE management group meeting took place in Oostende, Belgium from 5-7 February 2024. The Summary Report is now available : https://oceanexpert.org/document/33860
background documents and presentations are available on https://oceanexpert.org/event/3991#overview
The following items were discussed during this 2.5 days meeting: the action points of the XVII meeting, the status of the IODE network , the restructuring of the IODE elements , the IODE Quality Management Framework, the different Programme elements achievements in the past year , the collaboration with other entities, IODE role in the UN Decade and new possible initiatives to come.
OBIS is taking part in an EU-funded project, MARCO-BOLO (MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations) which aims to structure and strengthen European coastal and marine biodiversity observation capabilities.
The main objective is to enable a digital framework for coastal and marine biodiversity data streams and data access. This will be done by building on international standards and approaches to establish the biological component of the marine
and coastal Earth observation Infrastructure in Europe. One of Marco-Bolo’s main aims is a more effective knowledge transfer and uptake of data and information products through the establishment of a stakeholder community and close engagement through co-design/co-creation workshops.
UNESCO-IOC is seeking an individual consultant to assist with the coordination of the Marco- Bolo project and more specifically the work related to Work Package 6 “Stakeholder Engagement and Community Integration”.
more information: HERE
Deadline to apply: 23 February 2024 (23: 59 CET)
contract start: 7 March 2024 - 75 %
