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Intergovernmental
Oceanographic
Commission
Biennial Report 2012 – 2013
United Nations
(dXcational 6cienti¿c and
Cultural Organization
Intergovernmental
Oceanographic
Commission
Intergovernmental
Oceanographic
Commission
United Nations
(ducational 6cienti¿c and
Cultural Organization
Intergovernmental
Oceanographic
Commission
IOC Mission Statement
The purpose of the Commission is to promote international cooperation and to coordinate programmes in research,
services and capacity-building, in order to learn more about the nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas
and to apply that knowledge for the improvement of management, sustainable development, the protection of the
marine environment, and the decision-making processes of its Member States.
The Commission will collaborate with international organizations concerned with its work, and especially with those
organizations of the United Nations system which are willing and prepared to contribute to the purpose and functions
of the Commission and/or to seek advice and cooperation in the field of ocean and coastal area scientific research,
related services and capacity-building.
Vision
Strong scientific understanding and systematic observations of the changing world climate and ocean ecosystems
shall underpin global governance for a healthy ocean, and global, regional and national management of risks and
opportunities from the ocean. IOC aspires to help its Member States to collectively achieve the following high-level
objectives (HLOs):
1. Healthy ocean ecosystems and sustained ecosystem services
2. Effective early warning systems and preparedness for tsunamis and other ocean-related hazards
3. Increased resiliency to climate change and variability and enhanced safety, efficiency and effectiveness of all
ocean-based activities through scientifically-founded services, adaptation and mitigation strategies
4. Enhanced knowledge of emerging ocean science issues
Published in 2014
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France
© UNESCO 2014
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on
the part of the Secretariats of UNESCO and IOC concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or its authorities, or concerning the
delimitation of the frontiers of any country or territory. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are
not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.
Editors: Thomas Gross Designer: UNESCO
Special thanks to contributing authors, and those who assisted in providing information and illustrations.
For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as follows:
IOC Biennial Report 2012-2013
IOC Annual Reports Series No. 18, UNESCO 2014 (English)
Printed by UNESCO
(IOC/2014/AR/18)
SC-2014/WS/8
Table of Contents
Statement of the Chair of IOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Statement of the IOC Executive Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
High-level Objective 3
Safeguarding the health of ocean ecosystems . . . . . . . 39
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Large Marine Ecosystem Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Main Achievements of the UNESCO
Medium-Term Strategy (2008–2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
IndiSeas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Report on Programme Implementation (2012–2013) . . . 10
International Oceanographic Data
and Information Exchange (IODE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
General policy issues
Oceans and the law of the sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Report of the Secretary-General
on Oceans and the Law of the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Global Priorities IOC Sub-Commission
for Africa and the Adjacent Island States. . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Gender Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Capacity Development and Transfer of Technology . . . 15
Participation in UN consultations
and coordination: Rio+20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Micro-Plastics in the Marine Environment . . . . . . . . . . . 40
OBIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
HAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Nutrient Pollution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Guide on Coastal Risk Reduction
for Local Authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Initiative. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Regional ICAM Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
SPINCAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Subsidiary Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
PEGASO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
IOC AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
IOCARIBE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
WESTPAC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
High-level Objective 4
Management procedures and policies
leading to the sustainability of coastal
and ocean environment and resources . . . . . . . . . . . 49
High-level Objective 1
Prevention and reduction of the impacts
of natural hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Tsunami Warning System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Regular Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Transboundary Water Assessment Programme
(TWAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
High-level Objective 2
Mitigation of the impacts of, and adaptation
to, climate change and variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Administration and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Global Ocean Observing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Annex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) . . . . . . . 35
Funding for IOC Programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
International Ocean Carbon
Coordination Project (IOCCP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Introduction – General Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ocean in a High-CO2 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Extrabudgetary funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Coastal Adaptation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Overview of the IOC Staffing Situation. . . . . . . . . . . 55
International Indian Ocean Expedition
50th Anniversary Initiative (IIOE-2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Challenges and Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Regular programme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Structure of the IOC Secretariat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
List of Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Statement of the Chair of IOC
serious financial situation of IOC, I very much hope
IOC Member States will explore ways to contribute
extrabudgetary funds to IOC’s programmes.
Statement of
the IOC Chair,
Dr Sang-Kyung Byun
e celebrated the 50th anniversary of IOC
three years ago. Nevertheless we had
faced various challenges arising from the
change of internal and/or external circumstances
during the past two years. Among them has been
the financial situation of UNESCO and IOC that drew
our keen attention. The United States of America
and Israel have both withheld their assessed
contribution after UNESCO admitted Palestine as
a Member State through voting in October 2011.
This led to a 76% cut in resources for activities and
an 8% cut in staff in the IOC budget for the 20122013 biennium. The allocation of the Emergency
Fund from UNESCO, however, increased the total
available funding for programme activities from
24% to 58% of the approved 36 C/5 UNESCO work
programme level. The current budget reduction
has never been experienced before, yet IOC and
Secretariat staff endeavoured to respond to it by
minimizing its impact on activities. In light of the
W
4
IOC Report 2012-2013
The new Medium Term Strategy for 2014-2021 was
adopted during the 27th Session under consensus
of Member States. The high-level objectives (HLOs)
are:
· Healthy ocean ecosystems and sustained
ecosystem services (Healthy ocean ecosystems)
· Effective early warning systems and preparedness
for tsunamis and other ocean-related hazards
(Early warning for ocean hazards)
· Increased resiliency to climate change and
variability and enhanced safety, efficiency
and effectiveness of all ocean-based activities
through scientifically-founded services, adaptation and mitigation strategies (Resiliency to
climate change and variability)
· Enhanced knowledge of emerging ocean science
issues (Emerging ocean science issues)
Member States should take into account the IOC
Medium-Term Strategy in developing their national
plans and programmes for ocean sciences,
observations and services, as well as in planning their
contribution to and participation in the programmes
of the Commission.
After the establishment of the IOC Sub-commission for
Africa and Adjacent Island States (IOCAFRICA) at the
26th Session of the Assembly of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO in 2011
in parallel with dissolution of the IOC Regional
Committee for the Eastern Atlantic (IOCEA) and
the IOC Regional Committee for the Western Indian
Ocean (IOCWIO), the first and second Sessions of
IOCAFRICA were held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2012
and in Cape Town, South Africa in 2013 respectively.
During the Sessions, there were comprehensive
discussions and constructive suggestions for the
future development of IOCAFRICA, with the full
participation of Member States, on the strategic plan
for 2014-2021, programme of work for 2014-2017
and cooperation with other organizations.
The Republic of Korea sponsored a series of
workshops about sustained ocean observation and
services to promote operational oceanography in the
regions of Eastern Europe (Group II) in 2012, Latin
and Caribbean (Group III) in 2013, and Asia-Pacific
(Group IV) in 2013 respectively.
I have to mention the “EXPO 2012 Yeosu Korea”
which aimed at projecting a vision for green growth
from the sea under the theme of «The Living Ocean
and Coast». During the EXPO, IOC organized
two meetings, namely, «The 2nd International
Symposium on Effects of Climate Change on the
World’s Ocean” and “The 4th Session of the Joint
IOC-WMO Technical Commission for Oceanography
and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM)” respectively.
The “Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea” concluded with the
Yeosu declaration whose main goal was to enlighten
the world’s civil society to have greater stewardship
over the protection of marine environment and
simultaneously to seek sustainable use of the
ocean for future generations. Through a series of
ocean related events, I believe, the awareness
of the importance of the ocean in the national or
international societies was enhanced significantly.
As stated explicitly in the Statutes, IOC has been
working on promoting international cooperation and
coordinating programmes in research, services and
capacity-building, in order to learn more about the
nature and resources of the ocean and coastal areas
and to apply that knowledge for the improvement
of management, sustainable development, the
protection of the marine environment, and the
decision-making processes of its Member States. In
this regard, Africa as well as Small Island Developing
States, as priority in UNESCO and in IOC, need more
aid for their capacity development in ocean activities.
IOC enjoys functional autonomy within UNESCO. In
order to strengthen the role of IOC as the competent
body and focal point for ocean science matters in
the UN system, IOC should voluntarily demonstrate
its capability by actively participating in regional and
international activities such as the UN Conference
on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio, Brazil.
In this context, IOC should always be ready to
demonstrate the importance of the ocean for human
life, sustainable development and the blue green
economy.
Since its establishment in 1960, IOC’s activities
have mainly been focused on science rather
than services. As such IOC is facing continuous
challenges from other international and domestic
organizations in terms of its leadership in the UN
system. At the same time, it is also clear that the
disciplines of oceanography and marine science
IOC Report 2012-2013
5
have moved beyond discrete exploratory cruises
to coordinated and sustained ocean observation
networks at local, regional and global scale. In order
to meet the pending issues of Member States, IOC
should develop the functions of ocean forecasting
for predicting ocean-related disasters and climate
change over the global ocean and coastal seas.
Furthermore, IOC should find proper mechanisms,
in consensus, such as operational oceanography for
sustainable observation and service as well as for
scientific research and knowledge.
6
IOC Report 2012-2013
It is true that today we have many challenges caused
by recent budgetary reduction and also by urgent
ocean related issues as expressed in the current
four High Level Objectives of the IOC. However, I am
sure that we can make the future of IOC to be more
bright, promising and prosperous if we strive hand
in hand to overcome obstacles. Let’s go forward
together!
Statement of the IOC Executive Secretary
or those who are keeping track, you will note
that an IOC Annual Report for 2011 does not
exist. That, of course, was the year when on
31st October, the 36th UNESCO General Conference
voted to admit Palestine as a Member State, which
led to the immediate withholding by the USA of its
regular and extrabudgetary contributions to the
organization. With only eight weeks left in the year
and the abrupt loss of 31% of its Regular Programme
budget for both 2011 and the subsequent 2012-2013
biennium, the IOC secretariat became immediately
and totally engaged in determining what could be
done, what could not and where emergency funds
were most urgently needed. Thus, we were unable
to communicate on the developments that took
place in 2011, but this first report of our new biennial
reporting cycle will cover some of that year’s more
notable happenings in addition to all that took place
in 2012-2013.
F
It would be tempting to center my remarks for this
report on the financial challenges the IOC has faced
since late 2011. However, I prefer to highlight a
few of the many positive events and activities that
have happened in this stormy interim. As Executive
Secretary, my main task is to steer the IOC forward,
and I can tell you with much satisfaction and team
pride that even at a time of great institutional
difficulties, the IOC has remained focused on fulfilling
its mandate. Like the experienced ocean-faring crew
that we are, jumping ship was never an option.
I will not spend much time repeating what you will
read in much greater depth throughout the report,
but I believe a brief tour d’horizon of major IOC
Statement of the
Executive Secretary,
Dr Wendy Watson-Wright
developments is useful to underline some positive
accomplishments. The establishment of IOC’s third
sub-commission, IOCAFRICA, and the staffing of its
secretary demonstrates IOC’s concrete commitment
to UNESCO’s Priority Africa and to building capacity
in marine science and services on that continent.
IOC’s coordination role in ocean research and
disaster-reduction vis-à-vis our Member States
remains one of the pillars of our mandate, and I am
pleased to note the official operational take-over of
the tsunami alert system for the Indian Ocean by
India, Indonesia and Australia on 31st March 2013.
That such a system is fully functional and supported
by Member States represents remarkable progress
since the 2004 catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami.
And the revitalization of GOOS governance as well
as IOC’s strong leadership going into and during
Rio+20 underline how we have stepped up our
role in and contributions to the ocean scientific
community and UN System in order to make the
IOC Report 2012-2013
7
ocean a priority item in the sustainability and climate
change debate.
These positive steps are the result of a concerted
effort by the IOC Secretariat, IOC delegations, and
Permanent Delegations to UNESCO. We’re all at
the helm of the IOC ship together, and now more
than ever we need to steer with vigour in the same
direction. As I prepare to depart from the fascinating
and deeply gratifying position of Executive Secretary
of the IOC, it is to these key groups in IOC governance
that I address my final messages.
First, to the IOC delegations. As many have said
numerous times, the Secretariat is not the IOC – you
the Member States are. It is up to you to ensure the
continuation of and appropriate national support
structures for the IOC’s work throughout the globe. It
is incumbent upon you to ensure that your countries
understand the importance of ocean science and the
IOC, and that this translates into appropriate resourcing,
both through regular programme and extrabudgetary
allocations. I ask you to bear in mind that the IOC is
operating at full capacity, and that new initiatives must
either receive adequate additional funding, or replace
existing programmes and projects. As you decide on
our programmatic priorities, please bear in mind our
oftentimes difficult institutional realities.
Second, to the UNESCO Permanent Delegations.
The verbal support given to the IOC over the past
8
IOC Report 2012-2013
biennium has been most inspiring, for it underscores
the importance of the IOC activities to your countries.
However, words in the absence of adequate human
and financial resources are of little assistance to the
IOC. I am particularly concerned by what appears
to be a gap between the highly supportive language
on the part of UNESCO delegations, and the fact
that the IOC figures only as a medium priority in
the budget approved by the UNESCO General
Conference for the 2014-2015 biennium. I hope this
is merely a bureaucratic hiccough, and I call on
both the UNESCO Secretariat and the 38th General
Conference to ensure this is rectified.
Finally, to the IOC secretariat. You are a hard
working, dedicated group who have really stepped
up your efforts to find funds to support our most
critical programs. I urge you to carry on in these
endeavours, with a view to complementing Member
States’ efforts by providing not only the energy
needed to ensure positive results, but also the ideas
and inspiration that make IOC a leader in its field,
and an absolutely wonderful team with whom to
work. Remember, more than the keepers of the IOC
mandate, you are the repositories of the IOC spirit
of commitment and passion for the wellbeing of our
planet’s crown jewel: the ocean.
I thank you for the honour of having served as your
Executive Secretary and wish you all ‘fair winds and
following seas’.
Introduction
IOC
27th Assembly
he
Intergovernmental
Oceanographic
Commission of UNESCO is today in an
unprecedented and challenging situation:
its Secretariat is operating with a reduced budget
and reduced personnel, during a global economic
downturn. In this uncertain environment, the IOC
T
is required to assess what it has achieved during
the past six years and to plan its strategy for the
next eight. This presents a unique opportunity for
the Commission to rethink its priorities and decide
on where the IOC’s focus should be in the coming
years.
IOC Report 2012-2013
9
Main Achievements of the
UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy
(2008–2013)
Even at the start of the last strategic planning period
from 2008 to 2013, Assembly documents indicate that
the financial situation of IOC was a preoccupation.
In the mean time, the situation worsened with the
withholding of the US contributions in 2011-2013.
However, thanks to the extrabudgetary funds made
available by Member States and through UNESCO’s
Emergency Funds for 2012-2013, it has been possible
to carry out a substantial number of activities and
maintain our leadership in designated areas of the UN
system and in our partnerships. In other areas we have
had to decrease our commitments in order to allocate
resources to mission critical programmes.
IOC has been at the forefront of a number of global
initiatives, in spite of the difficult economic situation.
Core achievements since the 2012 45th Executive
Council include the active participation of IOC in the
Rio+20 Conference, with reference to the Commission
in the outcome document entitled “The Future We
Want”, and participation in the 14th meeting of the
United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative
Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea.
Report on Programme Implementation
(2012–2013)
The IOC Medium-Term Strategy for 2014–2021 which
was adopted by the Assembly at its 27th Session in
2013, recommended that the number of high-level
objectives be minimized, making them more strategic,
inspirational and reflective of societal concerns,
(such as climate change and disaster risk reduction)
to prioritize those strategic actions that reflect
IOC’s unique mandate within the UN system, and to
recognize different mechanisms and partnerships for
implementation by the IOC.
During the 2012-2013 Biennium 4 additional Member
States have joined the Commission – Honduras
(March 2012), Kiribati (May 2012), St Vincent and
the Grenadines (January 2013), Vanuatu (September
2013), – bringing the total IOC Membership to
146 Member States.
General policy issues
Oceans and the law of the sea
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,
the United Nations Environment Programme, the
World Meteorological Organization and the International Council for Science, particularly considering their role in monitoring and forecasting climate
change and variability and in the establishment
and operation of tsunami warning systems;
On 5 April 2012, the UN General Assembly, at its
66th Session, adopted the resolution A/RES/66/231
on “Oceans and the law of the sea”. In the relation to
the work of the IOC, the General Assembly:
· Encouraged States to use the Criteria and
Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology
adopted by the Assembly of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at
its 22nd Session in 2003, and recalled the important
role of the Secretariat of that Commission in the
implementation and promotion of the Criteria and
Guidelines;
· Took note with appreciation of the progress made by
the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
and Member States towards the establishment
of regional and national tsunami warning and
mitigation systems, welcomed the continued
collaboration of the United Nations and other
intergovernmental organizations in this effort, and
encouraged Member States to establish and sustain
their national warning and mitigation systems, within
a global, ocean-related multi-hazard approach, as
necessary, to reduce loss of life and damage to
national economies and strengthen the resilience of
coastal communities to natural disasters;
· Took note of the 2011 report of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission and the World
· Took note with appreciation of the work of the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,
with the advice of the Advisory Body of Experts
on the Law of the Sea, on the development of
procedures for the implementation of Parts XIII
and XIV of the Convention, and also took note
of the ongoing review of the Advisory Body of
Experts by an open-ended working group with
representatives from Member States;
· Stressed the importance
of increasing the scientific
understanding of the oceansUnited Nations
atmosphere interface, includbuilding –
ing through participation
in ocean observing pro66th session of
grammes and geographic
the UNGA
information systems, such as
the Global Ocean Observing
System, sponsored by the
IOC Report 2012-2013
11
Meteorological Organization, entitled “Ocean data
buoy vandalism – incidence, impact and responses”
and urged States to take necessary action and to
cooperate in relevant organizations, including the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission and the World Meteorological
Organization, to address damage to ocean data
buoys deployed and operated in accordance with
international law, including through education and
outreach about the importance and purpose of
these buoys, and by strengthening these buoys
against such damage, and increasing reporting
of such damage;
· Invited the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission, the United Nations Environment
Programme, the International Maritime Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, and other competent United
Nations specialized agencies, as appropriate,
to continue to provide technical and scientific
support to the Regular Process;
· Noted with appreciation the support provided by
the Division to the Regular Process, and noted
also with appreciation the technical and logistical
support of the United Nations Environment
Programme and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Report of the Secretary-General
RQ}2FHDQVDQGWKH/DZRIWKH6HD
The IOC Secretariat submitted its contribution to the
report of the Secretary-General on Oceans and the
Law of the Sea prepared pursuant to the request
made by the General Assembly. Report A/66/79/
Add.1 is available on the website of the Division of
Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS):
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/general_assembly/general_assembly_
reports.htm
The contribution of IOC referred in particular to the
following:
· At its 45th Session, held in June 2012, the IOC
Executive Council decided that the IOC Advisory
Body of Experts on the Law of the Sea (ABE-LOS)
would continue its work with a focus on priorities
as tasked by the IOC governing bodies;
12
IOC Report 2012-2013
· In February 2012, IOC/UNESCO announced a
partnership with the research schooner Tara to
promote awareness of the ocean and emphasize
its importance at the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de
Janeiro from 20 to 22 June 2012. The cooperation
focuses on climate change and the importance
of sustainable management practices;
· The first meeting of the Global Ocean Observing
System Steering Committee, held in June 2012,
emphasized the importance of sustaining
present observations, affirmed the importance
of expanding the System into new variables and
recognized the need to develop the capacity of
Member States to participate in it;
· At its 45th Session, the Executive Council of
IOC established an intersessional consultation
of all IOC Member States to identify scientific
and technical issues within the IOC mission and
mandate to improve its activities in the area of
sustained ocean observations and services. The
participants at the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development also called for
international cooperation in the observation of
ocean acidification and vulnerable ecosystems.
The relevance of global mapping and the
collection of environmental data through the
Global Earth Observation System of Systems
were also noted;
· The United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development recognized the importance of
building the capacity of developing countries and
emphasized the need for cooperation in marine
scientific research to implement the provisions
of the UNCLOS and the outcomes of the major
summits on sustainable development, as well as
for the transfer of technology, taking into account
the IOC criteria and guidelines on the transfer of
marine technology;
· At its 45th Session, the IOC Executive Council
took note of the conclusions of the Ad Hoc
Advisory Group for the IOC Ocean Sciences
Section, which had recommended that the
Section focus on supporting local and global
initiatives to address scientific gaps, improving
inclusiveness through national capacity-building,
especially in Africa, and, consistent with UNESCO
priorities, supporting the interdisciplinary nature
of research;
· The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation
System (IOTWS) reached its full operational stage
during the biennium and on 31st March 2013
the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) formally
stopped their almost eight year temporary
tsunami warning coverage for the Indian Ocean.
At its 8th Session, held in November 2011, the
ICG for the TEW and Mitigation System in the
North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and
Connected Seas acknowledged the steady
progress made towards the provision of tsunami
watch services for the region. At its 7th Session,
held in April 2012, the ICG for the Tsunami and
Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the
Caribbean and Adjacent Regions highlighted
significant progress in the area of sea-level
monitoring, with 38 sea-level stations available
for tsunami monitoring. Seismic monitoring has
also improved significantly, with over 100 stations
delivering real-time data for tsunami monitoring.
On 16 and 17 February 2012, IOC/UNESCO
co-organized with the Government of Japan and
the United Nations University an international
symposium entitled “The great East Japan
tsunami on 11 March 2011 and tsunami warning
systems: policy perspectives”.
The UN General Assembly requested the SecretaryGeneral to prepare a report, for its consideration
at the sixty-eighth Session, on developments and
issues relating to ocean affairs and the law of the
sea, including the implementation of the resolution.
Following this request IOC provided to DOALOS
information on the topic of focus of the fourteenth
meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal
Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of
the Sea, entitled “Impacts of ocean acidification on
the marine environment”. IOC reported on current
activities including: progress on the Development
of an Ocean Acidification Observing Network,
the outcomes from the Third International Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World, and the
Cooperation between the International Ocean Carbon
Coordination Project (IOCCP) and IOC/UNESCO.
The IOC contribution was included in A/68/79/Add.1,
the report of the 68th Session of the UN General
Assembly.
IOC Report 2012-2013
13
Global Priorities
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Opening ceremony for the
IOC Sub-Commission for
Africa and the Adjacent
Island States
The focus on Africa continued with the launch of the
IOC Sub-Commission for Africa and the Adjacent
Island States (IOCAFRICA) in Nairobi in 2012, and
the finalization and adoption of the Strategic plan for
the Subcommission for 2014-2021 at its 2nd Session
hosted by South Africa in Cape Town in April 2013.
The Strategic Plan was subsequently adopted
by the 27th Session of the IOC Assembly and will
form the basis for IOC’s interventions in Africa.
Implementation of on-going initiatives such as the
14
IOC Report 2012-2013
Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa
continued, and resources were allocated from the
Emergency fund for implementation of activities in a
range of areas including assessment and response
to coastal hazards, ocean observations, and climate
change adaptation. New projects on enhancing
oceanography capacities have been developed
and will be implemented with support from Belgium,
China and Spain. Details of these are provided in
the section of this report on the Sub Commission.
Gender Equality
The IOC, in partnership with the Rachel Carson
Centre of the University of Munich Germany,
organized a special event on the occasion of the
50th anniversary of the publication of Silent Spring, in
1962, by Rachel Carson. The book is widely credited
with helping launch the environmental movement,
first in the United States and then globally. Rachel
Carson is also the author of the so-called sea trilogy,
The Sea Around Us, The Edge of the Sea, and Under
the Sea Wind. In 1952, The Sea Around Us became
a prize-winning study of oceanography. The event
was organized around two main Sessions. A first
one focused on Rachel Carson and her legacy, in
particular concerning the environmental movement
and environmental legislation, while the second
focused on the role of women in the environmental
movement. The event was funded through a
donation of the Rachel Carson Center and was
supported by USA and Germany. The IOC also is
contributing to the development of a network of
female oceanographers. The Network Of Women in
Ocean Science (NOW in Ocean Science) is a way
to promote exchange of information and experience,
and a way to support young women willing to start
a career in ocean science with the help of more
experienced colleagues who can be role model for
them.
Rachel
Carson:
Cover
of Silent
Spring
Capacity Development
DQG7UDQVIHURI7HFKQRORJ\
The IOC, in partnership with the Global Ocean Forum,
made a voluntary Commitment at the Rio+20 Conference
on ‘Building Global Capacity for Marine Sciences,
Observation and Transfer of Marine Technology’. This
commitment aimed at conducting a global and regional
assessment of capacity development needs in the field
of marine scientific research and ocean observation
especially in developing nations and SIDS, leading to
the formulation and implementation of a global strategy
to implement these needs, through partnership with
IOC Report 2012-2013
15
countries, donors, UN Agencies, global financial
institutions and the private sector. This commitment
is based on the proposal contained in the IOC-led
interagency publication, “A Blueprint for Ocean and
Coastal Sustainability”, and will be implemented in
close cooperation with the Global Ocean Forum-led
Voluntary Commitment on building global capacity for
integrated ocean governance.
A survey, carried out in a sample of 20 countries
was completed and the report formed the basis of a
strategy which is being finalized in consultation with
Member States, based on the need to strengthen
national institutions, individual skills and knowledge,
and national science-policy frameworks in the short
and long term. Workshops will be organized with
countries and donors to validate the strategy for
partnerships and funding. A workshop was also
organized in New York from 14 to 17 May 2013
in collaboration with the UN Office of the High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) in order to present
the survey to the SIDS countries and to obtain their
views and priorities for the draft CD strategy (see
document IOC-XXVII/2 Annex 10 Add.)
Participation in UN consultations
DQGFRRUGLQDWLRQ5LR
Following the instructions received through IOC
Resolution XXVI-5 calling, inter alia, for IOC to play
an advocating role for the ocean during the Rio+20
preparatory process, IOC engaged actively in the
Rio+20 process through a number of activities. The
IOC Statement was circulated to all IOC Member
States and collaborating organizations. It was
submitted to the Secretariat of Rio+20 as an input to
the zero draft of the outcome document together with
the UN inter-agency report «A Blueprint for Ocean
and Coastal Sustainability», led by IOC. In the first
half of 2012, IOC organized a number of side events
on Ocean and Coastal Sustainability in the context
of Rio+20, at the European Parliament, Brussels,
as well as at the UN in New York on the margins of
16
IOC Report 2012-2013
the Rio+20 preparatory meetings. During the Rio
Conference (June 2012), IOC organized 3 major
side events:
· One on the ocean and science, organized during
the ICSU forum, put the emphasis on the need
for more comprehensive marine research to
fully understand and evaluate the impacts of
global change on the world’s ocean and for the
implementation of an international framework
of cooperation for both ocean research and
governance;
· The Ocean Day, co-chaired and co-organized
together with the Global Ocean Forum, which
brought together high-level representatives
from governments, international organizations,
nongovernmental organizations, industry, and
the science community;
· An official UNESCO Side event on the Ocean,
bringing science, World Heritage and education
perspectives on ocean issues.
The final outcome document adopted at Rio
Conference contains a substantial section on ocean
matters with 18 decisions defined, 7 of these being
particularly relevant to the work of IOC. These relate
to the issues of: capacity development and the
application of the IOC Guidelines for the transfer of
marine technology (Art. 160); the UN Regular process
(Art. 161); conservation and sustainable use of marine
biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction
(Art. 162); sea level rise and coastal erosion (Art. 165);
ocean fertilization, (Art. 167); ocean acidification
(Art. 176); and area-based conservation measures,
including marine protected areas (Art. 177).
One of the main outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference
was the agreement by Member States to launch a
process to develop a set of Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), which will build upon the Millennium
Development Goals and converge with the post
2015 development agenda. In this context, the IOC
has been providing scientific and technical inputs
to this SDG process. As a first step, IOC took part
in the UN Expert Group Meeting organized by UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ (UNDESA) Division on Sustainable Development, on
18–19 April 2013. These meetings will support the
SDG intergovernmental process by providing factual
information of the importance of the ocean in the
context of the sustainable development.
World Ocean Assessment
Realizing that until now, there has been no system to provide an integrated, world-wide view of what is happening to the oceans
and seas and our uses of them, the UN General Assembly decided in 2010 to set up a Regular Process for global reporting
and assessment of the state of the marine environment (including socioeconomic aspects) called the World Ocean Assessment
(WOA).
To this end and building on the recommendations contained in the IOC/UNEP report “An Assessment of Assessements” (2009),
the General Assembly created an Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole, to oversee and guide the Regular Process, and a Group
of Experts to carry out the assessments within the framework of the Regular Process. In addition, a much larger pool of experts
has been created to assist the Group of Experts in conducting the assessments and to provide effective peer-review to ensure
the high quality of the outputs. The projected completion date for the first WOA is 2014. Subsequent WOA will be generated on a
five-year cycle and will plot evident trends in the state of the marine environment. A scientific and technical summary will show
linkages through interdisciplinary subjects such as human impacts, ecosystem services, and habitats.
In 2011, the UN General Assembly invited IOC, amongst other agencies, to continue to provide technical and scientific support
to the Regular Process. In response to this call, IOC has provided technical and financial support to a number of activities,
which include the development of the WOA website/virtual office together with GRID/Arendal, the participation and coorganizing of several Regular Process Regional Workshops such as the ones in Sanya, China, February 2012, Brussels, Belgium,
June 2012; and Miami, USA, November 2012. IOC is also making available a number of relevant assessment products to inform
the work of the Group of Experts such as the indicator-based results of the GEF Transboundary Water Assessment Programme,
implemented by UNEP and IOC.
IOC Report 2012-2013
17
Subsidiary Bodies
IOC Sub-Commissions
The launching of the IOC Sub Commission for Africa and the Adjacent Island States (IOCAFRICA) is an important milestone for
the IOC and marks a significant transformation in the way that the Commission engages with Member States from the region.
The Secretariat for the Sub Commission was established at the UNESCO Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya and a Technical
Secretary appointed to coordinate IOC activities in Africa. The Sub Commission has developed a strategic plan to achieve its
objectives.
In the Western Pacific, there is now increased participation and increased commitments from Member States; additional
resources are made available by them for the development and implementation of WESTPAC activities. One of the main
accomplishments is the setting up of the IOC Regional Network of Training and Research Centres on Marine Science with one
IOC Regional Training and Research Centre on Ocean Dynamics and Climate (ODC) in operation in China and several others
under development.
Through IOCARIBE participation, the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem project has set the trend by the adoption of an
Ecosystem Based Management of shared living marine resources focused on governance.
,2&$)5,&$
The 2nd Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for
Africa and the Adjacent Island States was hosted by
the South Africa Department of Environmental Affairs
at the University of Western Cape, in Cape Town,
South Africa on 3–4 April 2013. It was attended by
more than 60 participants representing 19 Member
States along with other partners, including UN
agencies, the LME projects and NGOs. The Session
reviewed and revised the Draft Strategic Plan for
the Sub Commission, which was prepared by an
Inter-sessional Working Group established for this
purpose by the 1st Session. The Strategy outlines
how the Sub-Commission intends to achieve the
IOC objectives, focusing on the priority issues
such as climate change adaptation, water quality
18
IOC Report 2012-2013
degradation, coastal erosion, coastal and marine
hazards etc., and utilizing knowledge generation,
capacity development, partnerships resource
mobilization and public awareness and advocacy.
IOCAFRICA is carrying out a comprehensive
assessment of capacities for marine sciences in
Africa. It also participated in a regional meeting on
Capacity Development for Southern Africa region
organized by SCOR in Namibia in November 2012.
The implementation of the project on Integrated
Data and Information Products and Services for the
Management of Ocean and Coastal Zones in Africa
(ODINAFRICA-IV) continued with the development
of Coastal and Marine Atlases, the African Register
of Marine Species, Library catalogues and literature
repositories. Workshops were organized on: Coastal
and Marine Atlases development (in Nairobi, Kenya
and in Windhoek, Namibia), Marine Information
Management (Mombasa, Kenya), development
of the African Register of Marine Species (Tunis,
Tunisia), and ODINAFRICA Regional Coordination
(Lomé, Togo and Tunis, Tunisia).
The consultative meeting on sustained ocean
observations and services in Africa was held on 21
and 22 January 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The experts developed some strategic input for the
future of ocean observations in Africa and focused
on «ocean information for human and economic
security». The results of the consultation will form
the basis for development projects that national
and donor organizations can provide support for
improving ocean observations and information
products.
Other initiatives implemented include:
· Enhancing collaboration between the ocean and
climate communities in order to improve climate
prediction through incorporation of ocean data,
implemented with the Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction and
Application Centre – ICPAC and the Western
Indian Ocean Marine Science Association –
WIOMSA, and
· Marine mammal survey undertaken with the
Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem project
aboard the RV Fridtjof Nansen. The Government
of Spain has provided funds for implementation
of a project on ‘Enhancing oceanography
capacities in West Africa’. The First Sino-African
Forum on Marine Science and Technology was
hosted by the Second Institute of Oceanography
in Hangzhou, China from 26-27 November 2013
and identified priority areas to be considered
for collaborative work between China and
IOCAFRICA. These will develop into a ChinaAfrica marine science programme.
The support of the Republic of Korea in funding
the two meetings of IOCAFRICA, the capacity
assessment and a brochure on the sub-commission
is acknowledged. The Government of Kenya has
seconded one professional to IOCAFRICA and is
paying all associated costs. The projects funded
by the Government of Flanders, Belgium and the
Republic of Korea ended in 2013 and additional
resources must be identified to be able to sustain
the momentum already developed.
IOC AFRICA
Group discussion
IOC Report 2012-2013
19
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The 12th Session of the IOC/UNESCO SubCommission for the Caribbean and Adjacent
Regions (SC-IOCARIBE-XII) was held in Panama
City, Panama from 9 to 12 April 2013. The Session
was attended by 37 participants from 12 countries
of the Caribbean Region, UN Agencies and regional
organizations. The Sub-commission acknowledged
with satisfaction the completion of the “Sustainable
Management of the Shared Living Marine Resources
of the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem and
Adjacent Regions” (CLME), a $58 million GEF
funded project, as well as the preparation of the
CLME Strategic Action Programme and its technical
approval by the CLME Steering Committee.
Considering the important contribution of this project
to the Caribbean Sea shared living marine resources
management, improved governance, enhanced
capacity building, sustainable fisheries management
and sea food safety, the Sub commission urged
IOCARIBE Member States to endorse the CLME
Strategic Action Programme as a matter of priority
in order that the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
can consider it in the upcoming GEF Council.
An
IOCARIBE-GOOS
Working
Group
of
Experts was established with the purpose of
recommending priorities and actions required for
the full establishment of a coordinated, integrated,
interoperable and sustainable regional ocean and
coastal observing system in the IOCARIBE region.
20
IOC Report 2012-2013
Within the framework of The Joint WMO-IOC
Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine
Meteorology (JCOMM) and in partnership with
the Dominican Republic National Commission for
Hydrology (CHy), the Coastal Inundation Forecasting
Project (CIFDP) has been designed in the Dominican
Republic. The CIFDP project aims to provide a
strategy for building improved operational forecast
and warning capability for coastal inundation.
The IOCARIBE Project «Demonstrate Approaches
for Nutrient and Sediment Reduction at Selected
Pilot Study Areas in the Wider Caribbean,” has
been developed as part of the GEF – Integrating
Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in
Caribbean SIDS - IWEco (successor project to GEF
IWCAM) Project. IWEco is a GEF financed project
with 20 million USD support and co-financing of
118 million USD; the implementing agencies are
UNEP and UNDP.
IODE programmes and training capacities and
facilities have been instrumental for strengthening
IOCARIBE Member States capacities in marine
Information management. Further actions were taken to
promote and develop OceanDocs in the ODINCARSA
region, with the development of a Spanish version of
the OceanDocs Policy Document, the promotion of
OceanDocs within the Latin American International
Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries
and Information Centres (IAMSLIC) Group as well
as the promotion of the inclusion of grey literature in
OceanDocs to increase input.
Caribbean Marine Atlas (CMA) project : A total of
five prototype national marine atlases had been
implemented as of late 2012 (Barbados, Cuba,
Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago) and
one additional national atlas (Turks and Caicos) is
expected to be published by mid-2013.
HAB-ANCA (Harmful Algal Bloom) (Alga Nocivas
de Caribe): Members of the Group produced
publications on Ciguatera and organized a workshop
entitled “Ciguatera as a potential risk to public health
in the Caribbean” HAB ANCA Session were held on
25 and 26 April 2013 in Mexico with the sponsorship
of Mexico’s Ministry of Education
IOS Review of IOCARIBE Office: on the request of
the IOC Secretariat, the Internal Oversight Office
(IOS) of UNESCO carried out a review exercise of
the regional structure of the IOCARIBE Secretariat.
The purpose of the review was to identify operational
constraints and offer recommendations for the future.
The key findings of the review are that (i) the current
division of the Secretariat between two locations
(Kingston and Cartagena) is inefficient; (ii) there are
a number of positive achievements of IOCARIBE,
yet the current situation is not sustainable in terms
of (future) performance and results; (iii) IOCARIBE
is well-positioned to attract extra budgetary
resources, yet has been unable to develop this
potential; (iv) the Secretariat’s lack of technical staff
is the core cause undermining its effectiveness and
sustainability. The key recommendations of IOS
are that the IOCARIBE Secretariat be granted a
trial period of two years to demonstrate enhanced
performance, effectiveness and develop a strong
basis for financial sustainability of the Secretariat’s
operations in the future. During this period, the
Secretariat should operate from one location and
with a full-time IOCARIBE Secretary. (See IOCXXVII/2 Annex 12)
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The 9th Intergovernmental Session of the IOC SubCommission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC-IX)
took place in Busan, Republic of Korea, 9-12 May
2012 with 70 delegates and representatives from
WESTPAC Member States. The Sub-Commission
highlighted the recent remarkable achievements
made by WESTPAC in the development, coordination
and promotion of marine scientific research,
observations and capacity building with a view to
assisting Member States to address issues affecting
sustainable development of marine and coastal
resources. It was recognized that the implementation
of the WESTPAC revitalization strategy generated
positive impacts, which was demonstrated not
only by the established WESTPAC systematic
framework and collaborative process, but also by
the ever-growing number of substantial activities and
increasing support, either in-cash or in-kind, from
Member States. The Sub-Commission expressed its
deep concern over the understaffed situation given
IOC Report 2012-2013
21
the unprecedented workload of the Office to deliver
a rapidly growing range of WESTPAC activities; the
meeting decided to start the preparation of a series
of commemorative activities to be conducted in late
2013 and 2014 in celebration of the 25th Anniversary
of WESTPAC. The Sub-Commission approved
the WESTPAC Work Programme and Budget for
May 2012–May 2014 with an estimated budget of
totalling US $4.261 million, including US $30 K from
IOC regular budget and US$ 4.231 million from
extrabudgetary sources, either in cash or in kind;
The Sub-Commission elected, by acclamation,
Dr Somkiat Khokiattiwong from Thailand, Dr Youn-Ho
Lee from the Republic of Korea and Dr Vo Si Tuan
from Vietnam respectively as Chairperson, First ViceChairperson and Second Vice-Chairperson of the
Sub-Commission for the next intersessional period.
Over this biennium, WESTPAC has developed, coordinated and organized considerable activities across
its three identified key thematic areas, namely ocean
processes in the Indo-Pacific region, marine biodiversity and food security, and ocean ecosystem health.
Those activities include 22 Regional Workshops /
consultation meetings, 10 Trainings/Summer Schools
and 2 Joint cruises with a total of 875 participants,
including 225 female participants. Notably:
WESTPAC continues to actively engage in the World
Ocean Assessment. Following the recommendations
made at the workshop for Eastern and South-Eastern
Asian Seas (Sanya, China, 21-23 February 2012),
WESTPAC, in collaboration with the UNEP partners
and the Asia – Pacific Network for Global Change
Research, organized one Regional Scientific and
Technical Capacity Building Workshop on the
World Ocean Assessment in Bangkok, Thailand,
17–19 September 2012 with focus on building the
22
IOC Report 2012-2013
capacity of Member States to conduct integrated
marine assessments.
WESTPAC endeavours to demonstrate the value of
observations and services for various stakeholders
through the development of the SEAGOOS Ocean
Forecasting System and SEAGOOS Monsoon Onset
Monitoring and its Social & Ecosystem Impacts.
The SEAGOOS Ocean Forecasting System will
be expanded, over its second phase, to cover the
region of (20°S-20°N, 80°E-145°E), and develop
higher resolution models in a couple of selected subdomains upon the request of participating countries.
With the financial support of the Government of
Korea, one Indo-Pacific Ocean Forum on “Charting
the Future of Sustained Ocean Observations and
Services” was organized in Bangkok, Thailand, in
November 2013 with participation of more than 40
experts from 14 coastal countries and representatives
of GOOS and relevant GOOS regional alliances
in the Indo-Pacific region. The forum explored and
discussed the present and past situation of ocean
observation programmes and exchanged information
on the current status of ocean observation systems
among member states of the Asia-Pacific Region
(IOC Group IV). Recognizing the importance of
ocean observations and services to developed and
developing states, the forum concluded that IOC had
a need to respond to the issue in substantive manner.
The forum offered advice to move IOC forward:
· Become
an
advocate
for
operational
oceanography at the global level;
· Enhance recognition by governmental decision
makers in the value of operational oceanography;
· Rely upon the IOC regional subsidiary bodies
as viable vehicle to promote operational
oceanography regionally;
· Take advantage of the opportunity to use
operational oceanography to link global
programmes to regions and enhance cooperation
between member states;
· Encourage WESTPAC, in the light of its
achievement over the past 25 years, to strengthen
and/or enhance its efforts in the development
of operational oceanography and associated
capacity building activities in the Indo-Pacific
region.
Great importance has been continuously attached
by WESTPAC to capacity building in response to the
ever increasing demands of a number of developing
countries in the region for capacity to sustainably
manage their coastal and marine biodiversity and
resources. WESTPAC has been developing the IOC
Regional Network of Training and Research Centres
on Marine Sciences with the first IOC Regional
Training and Research Centre, with specialization
in Ocean Dynamics and Climate, established in
the First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic
Administration of China, and consultations being
made with other potential host for other regional
centres. Meanwhile, regular training opportunities,
such as on marine invasive species, harmful
algal blooms, toxic marine organisms, coral reef
restoration, monsoon science, air-sea interaction, and
operation of marine equipment, have been provided
in WESTPAC Member States on a rotation basis.
WESTPAC celebrated its 25th Anniversary with the
following objectives:
· To take stock of advances in marines sciences
and related international cooperation in the
Western Pacific;
· To promote and demonstrate to governments
and the public the value and importance of the
Sub-Commission’s achievements; and
· To plan its future directions in marine science,
and related sciences and services. A series of
commemorative activities were planned leading
up to the 9th WESTPAC International Scientific
Symposium from 22 to 25 April 2014 in Nha Trang,
Vietnam with the theme of “A Healthy Ocean
for Prosperity in the Western Pacific: Scientific
challenges and possible solutions”.
IOC Report 2012-2013
23
High-level Objective 1
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WKHLPSDFWVRI}QDWXUDOKD]DUGV
Tsunami Warning System
The governance process for the four regional tsunami
warning systems has continued as best as possible
considering the financial situation. Thanks to the
contributions from the UNESCO Emergency Fund
and contributions from Member States, it has been
possible to convene the ICG meetings as planned:
[ICG/CARIBE EWS-VII (2–4 April, 2012, Curaçao);
ICG/CARIBE EWS-VIII (29 April–1 May 2013, Trinidad
and Tobago); ICG/NEAMTWS-IX (10–13 September
2012, UK); ICG/NEAMTWS-X, 19-20 November
2013, Italy; ICG/IOTWS-IX 27–30 November 2012,
Indonesia; ICG/PTWS-XXV 9-11 September 2013,
Russian Federation).
In the biennium, the four ICGs held communication
and tsunami exercises. These exercises have been
very successful and have had increased participation among Tsunami Warning Focal Points.
They have further increased the awareness of
decisions makers and of emergency management
institutions.
The Regional Tsunami Service Providers (RTSP)
of Australia, India and Indonesia assumed full
operational responsibility for the provision of RTSP
Service Level-2 tsunami advisories for the Indian
Ocean Area of Responsibility as from 31 March
2013. IOC expresses deep appreciation to the
Governments of Japan and the United States of
America for the provision of the Interim Tsunami
Advisory Service for the Indian Ocean region by the
Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and Pacific
Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) from April 2005 to
31 March 2013.
For the NEAMTWS region there has been steady
progress towards the provision of tsunami watch
services for the region. In July/August 2012 three
nations officially announced to IOC that their national
tsunami watch centres were operational and that
they had the ability to act as Candidate Tsunami
Watch Providers, pending their accreditation.
They are the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake
Hands-on planning exercise
for tsunami evacuation from
hotel complex
(ITIC/IOC Training,
Dominican Republic)
IOC Report 2012-2013
25
Tsunami Warning System
In line with its first High-Level Objective on “Prevention and reduction of the impacts of natural hazards”, six national tsunami
warning centres – three in the Indian Ocean and three in the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean region – have been established by
Member States. The centres are 24/7 operational and provide alerts to Member States. In addition, tsunami Information Centres
have been set up in all four tsunami warning system regions. These information centres develop information and education
products and coordinate awareness and preparedness activities at community level. In order to better protect lives, more
tsunami exercises have been carried out and evaluated than at any point earlier. These exercises have contributed significantly
to raising awareness within countries and have created more tsunami-ready citizens. This preparedness has been further
improved by IOC contributing to the enhancement of the seismic and sea level detection networks. Significantly more seismic
and sea level stations are now available globally in real time to tsunami warning centres helping to reduce the time for issuing
tsunami alerts. At national and regional level, IOC organized courses or assisted with training in more than 60 workshops over
the last 6 years on hazard assessment, standard operating procedures, coastal inundation modeling and tsunami modeling and
organized the production of a large set of manuals and guides in various languages helping to increase tsunami preparedness,
awareness and best practices.
Research Institute, (Turkey); the French National
Tsunami Warning Centre (hosted by the French
Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission)
and the National Observatory of Athens (Greece).
These institutions can provide watch services and
alert messages to any Member State of the region
upon request.
Tsunami information centres have now been established
in four tsunami regions. Thanks to the UNESCO
Emergency Fund, it has been possible to set up the
Caribbean Tsunami Information Centre in partnership
with UNDP and the Department of Emergency
Management (Barbados). Tsunami Information Centre
for the North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and
Connected Seas NEAMTIC was established in 2010
and has developed a number of tsunami information
and awareness raising products (http://neamtic.ioc-unesco.
org/). The project was funded by the EU Directorate for
Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection.
26
IOC Report 2012-2013
IOC’s Tsunami Unit (TSU) has continued capacity
development activities in support of tsunami and
ocean related hazards. These activities are a
combination of short to medium term projects that
encompass advice, technology transfer and training.
In addition TSU has engaged in opportunistic
training activities with due consideration to resources
available and ongoing activities.
In the framework of the International Tsunami
Information Centre (ITIC), a UNESCO/IOC-NOAA
Partnership, 6 (six) one-week Regional Training
Workshops on Strengthening Tsunami Warning
and Emergency Response Standard Operating
Procedures and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
(PTWC) New International Tsunami Products,
were organized, four of them in the Pacific Ocean
hosted by Chile, China, El Salvador and New
Zealand and two in the Caribbean, hosted by
Barbados and the Dominican Republic. Over
180 national Tsunami Warning Centres and National
Emergency Management high level staff attended
these trainings.
TSU has ongoing projects: (i) in Oman self
Benefitting Funds in Trust towards development
of a National Multi Hazard Early Warning
System); (ii) sea level network reinforcements in
the Caribbean (funded by Brazil, Grenada and
Monaco); (iii) IOC Strengthening Haitian capacities
for tsunami early warning and preparedness in
partnership with the UNESCO Port au Prince Office
(funded by the European Commission DIPECHO);
(iv) national institutions prepared and communities
resilient to earthquakes and tsunamis in urban
environments in the province of Puerto Plata,
Dominican Republic (funded by the European
Commission DIPECHO); (v) investigation of the
written and oral history of tsunami events in the
Makran Coastal Region in partnership with the
UNESCO Jakarta Office (Funded by UNESCAP);
and (vi) Enhancing Tsunami Risk Assessment and
Management, Strengthening Policy Support and
Developing Guidelines for Tsunami Exercises in
Indian Ocean Countries (funded by UNESCAP).
IOC has also partnered with the UNESCO Santiago
Office concerning the now finished project:
Strengthening of the Regional Tsunami Early
Warning System in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and
Peru (funded by EU DIPECHO). IOC has contributed
to several training courses carried under this project.
http://portal.unesco.org/geography/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16577&URL_
DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Global Sea Level
Observing System GLOSS
The number of sea level stations that contribute real time data
to the IOC Sea Level Station Monitoring Facility and the four
regional tsunami warning systems has increased from 30
stations (2006) to 724 stations (end of 2013). This increase has
for instance enabled the development of new tsunami warning
products in the Pacific Tsunami Warning System. It has also
decreased the wait time for sea-level stations to report evidence
of a tsunami. More frequent transmissions allow the TWCs to
confirm the existence or non-existence of a destructive tsunami
more quickly. This is important as for every hour a tsunami
warning remains in effect, anywhere from 500 km to 1000 km of
additional coastline is placed in a warning depending upon where
the earthquake occurred.
In addition to providing real time sea level data, GLOSS continues
to provide quality controlled sea level data from the GLOSS
Core Network in support
of satellite altimeter
calibration, studies
of long term sea level
change, and vertical land
movement near sea level
stations for determination
of absolute sea level rise
rates. At the end of 2013
the status for the different
GLOSS data streams were
consolidated at http://
www.psmsl.org/products/
gloss/status.php
There is a newly installed
(2013) sea level station in
Jacmel, Haiti (European
Union ECHO project)
Thanks to contributions from the UNESCO
Emergency Fund the first IOC training course on
Coastal Hazard Assessment – Applications in Risk
IOC Report 2012-2013
27
Assessment, Management and Mitigation was held
in Colombo, Sri Lanka in March 2013. A full list of the
training course activities is provided in the calendar
of IOC/TSU.
Enabling research and analysis of past tsunami
events help improve tsunami warning systems
and preparedness. IOC/TSU organized the JapanUNESCO/UNU Symposium on The Great East
Japan Tsunami on 11 March 2011 and one entitled:
Tsunami Warning Systems: Policy Perspectives
16-17 February 2012 at UNU Tokyo. The Symposium
was opened by His Imperial Highness Crown
Prince Naruhito and Irina Bokova, Director General
of UNESCO. Close to 300 people attended the
symposium. The symposium offered a number of
invited high level perspectives from decision makers
28
IOC Report 2012-2013
and scientists and provided in-depth analyses of the
event. The Summary Statement and Proceedings
from the symposium are available at: http://ioc-tsunami.
org/tohokusymposium.
In the biennium two long term IOC staff members left
the TSU. Mr Yamamoto left at the end of May 2012
but kindly continued on a $1 contract till 13 October
2012. IOC is very grateful to Japan for having
supported Mr Yamamoto for the past 4.5 years.
IOC/TSU welcomed a regular programme funded
post in the UNESCO Jakarta Office on 1 October
2012. This post is jointly shared with the UNESCO
Science section and will serve the IOC Indian Ocean
Tsunami Information Centre and on Disaster Risk
Reduction.
High-level Objective 2
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The Global Ocean Observing System
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
and the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for
Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM)
provide a platform to Member States to coordinate
a sustained ocean observing system focused on
addressing societal challenges related to weather,
climate variability and change, and marine safety.
Through numerous workshops and expert team
meetings, the difficult but critical work of coordinating national contributions, developing common
standards, sharing best practices, and developing
common tools was promoted.
One key coordination platform is the JCOMM
Observing Programme Support Centre (JCOMMOPS),
which was maintained in 2008-2013 entirely on
voluntary contributions from Member States as a
platform for technical coordination and support to
operators of GOOS in situ networks. It has expanded
to support new programmes (OceanSITES time
series stations, GO-SHIP repeat hydrography) and
has hired in 2012 a third technical coordinator for
ship-based observations as a pilot. During this time
period, the GOOS/JCOMM metric tracking the level of
implementation against agreed global targets stalled
at 62%. Behind this stalled statistic, tremendous
investment by Member States maintained a system
that needs constant upkeep. In 2012 the Argo
profiling float network measured its millionth profile,
an indicator of successful observing network
development. At the same time the tropical Pacific
moored array (TAO/TRITON) dropped to below 50%
Global Ocean Observing System
The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) coordinates Member State contributions to a collaborative observing system
responding to societal requirements for climate monitoring and projections, weather forecasting, and safety of life at sea and
on the coasts. It is now addressing a growing global set of requirements for sustained observations and information about the
ocean, engaging with partners in a Framework for Ocean Observing, expanding the number of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs)
considered, and improving the readiness of the observing system to provide data to sustainably manage the ocean.
The most mature global requirements for GOOS are those for climate monitoring, projections, and research. These requirements
were set in cooperation with the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the World Climate Research Programme
(WCRP) by the joint GCOS-GOOS-WCRP Ocean Observations Panel for Climate. These requirements cover satellite and in situ
observations. Two examples from the global in situ networks for climate, drawn from the Argo profiling float network and the
TAO/TRITON array of tropical Pacific moored buoys, illustrate successes and challenges of Member States building GOOS.
30
IOC Report 2012-2013
Diversity at their 11th Conference of the Parties
(October 2011, Hyderabad, India), the UN World
Ocean Assessment and the GEF-sponsored
Transboundary Waters Assessment.
· Improving outreach and engaging with partners,
including the Partnership for Observation of
the Global Ocean, and identifying a role for
GOOS in the emerging Global Framework for
Climate Services. GOOS, as a component of
the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS),
co-sponsored the GCOS-led “Workshop on
Observations for Adaptation to Climate Variability
and Change” (Offenbach, Germany, February
2013) which was a first effort at capturing
requirements.
real-time data return for the first time as investment in
mooring refresh cruises was reduced. This observing
system enabled global climate science, operational
seasonal climate forecasts used in management of
agriculture, water, and disasters, and operational
ocean forecasts used in a wide variety of services.
The new GOOS Steering Committee (SC) met in June
2012, immediately preceding the 45th Executive
Council, for the first time since the reform of GOOS
structures and scope by the 26th Assembly in 2011.
Significant progress on its work plan was achieved
by the time of its second meeting (25–27 March
2013, Qingdao, China), supported in large part by
the UNESCO Emergency Fund. Some highlights of
this work plan include:
· Broadening the variables examined by GOOS and establishing
three disciplinary panels to determine societal requirements for sustained observations of physical,
geochemical, and biology / ecosystems variables. These panels
are based on the Ocean Observation Panel for Climate (OOPC)
for physics, the International
Ocean Carbon Coordination Panel
(IOCCP) for carbon / geochemistry,
and a new panel for biology/ecosystems, building on the legacy of
the Panel for Integrated Coastal
Observations (PICO) and in cooperation with the GEO Biodiversity
Observing Network and OBIS.
· Engaging with key conventions
and assessments on their needs
for ocean information, including
with the Convention on Biological
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In November 2012, the Argo profiling float network collected its one millionth profile
of vertical temperature and salinity, twice the number collected by all research
vessels in the 20th century. 120,000 new profiles are collected every year, about one
new profile every four minutes.
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CANADA (71)
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FRANCE (242)
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INDIA (105)
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UNITED KINGDOM (148)
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AUSTRALIA (377)
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CHINA (111)
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SOUTH KOREA (71)
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GERMANY (122)
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May 2014
Status of the Argo profiling float array in early 2014.
IOC Report 2012-2013
31
· Engaging IOC Member States, improving GOOS
Regional Alliance implementation, and improving
capacity development for GOOS. The GOOS
Project Office was involved in regional meetings
focused on sustained ocean observations. One
was held as a meeting of GOOS Experts from
Africa in Cape Town in January 2013. Other
meetings, funded by the Republic of Korea and
Brazil, were held for Group III Member States (Rio
De Janeiro, Brazil, March 2013), and Group II
Member States (Varna, Bulgaria, March 2012)
Following the successful 4th Session of the Joint
WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography
and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) held in Yeosu,
Republic of Korea (May 2012), JCOMM Members/
Member States and teams have concentrated on
an ambitious work plan. Financial support from the
Republic of Korea for 2012–2013, and secondment
staff support from State Oceanic Administration,
China, has allowed IOC to continue to support
JCOMM activities.
The JCOMM Observations Programme Area
coordinates in situ networks sustained by collective
Member State effort. It oversees JCOMMOPS, which
has recently reinforced its coordination support for
volunteer observing ships in the Ship Observations
Team (SOT), the repeat hydrography network
GO-SHIP, and in creating deployment opportunities
for Argo floats and DBCP surface drifters. In
cooperation with the Data Management Programme
Area, it is working on developing recommendations to
improve the data architecture of flow from observing
3QNOHB@K/@BHjB,NNQDC QQ@X
The tropical Pacific moored array (TRITON maintained by JAMSTEC/Japan west of 160°E and TAO maintained by NOAA/USA
east of 160°E) has been said to be ‘in crisis’ at the moment. The US moorings are presently (April 2013) returning only about
50% of potential data, due to a lack of ship time to service the array. This points to the tremendous challenge of sustaining the
observing effort.
Data availability (solid squares) in the TAO/TRITON tropical Pacific moored array. The TAO moorings, which have not been
serviced for lack of ship time, are showing poor data returns.
32
IOC Report 2012-2013
GOOS Structure
GOOS in this period underwent a significant
structural change enacted by the Assembly in 2011.
This began with the OceanObs’09 conference (21–
25 September 2009, Venice, Italy) which took stock
of achievements in sustained ocean observations
over the previous decade, and developed community
input for sustaining and improving societal benefits
from ocean observations in the coming decade.
The conference brought together more than 600
scientists from developed and developing countries,
with broad interdisciplinary representation. It
reinforced a vision for GOOS as bridging research
and operational agencies and institutions focused
on sustained ocean observations, linked to data
management and ocean analysis, modelling and
forecast activities, providing information to address
many societal challenges. This conference and
follow-up activities connected GOOS with a much
wider scientific community in IOC Member States,
and drove impetus for the systems design of an
integrated observing system. The development
of a Framework for Ocean Observing (IOC/INF1284) took lessons learned from successful
implementation of GOOS and provides systems
language and thinking for application at national,
regional, and global levels. It addresses coastal and
open ocean observations holistically.
networks to real-time data systems, climate archives,
and oceanographic model and forecast centres as
well as users. In cooperation with the World Ocean
Council (WOC) and the former SCOR OceanScope
working group, it is exploring how to improve industry
support to the ocean observing system.
ice, wave and storm surge forecasting products, and
the development of standards and guides to best
practice in operational ocean forecast systems. It is
developing a Guide to Operational Ocean Forecast
Systems to be used as a tool for training and
building capacity, improving wave and surge climate
and forecast services, standardizing marine safety
information, and developing new ocean emergency
response capabilities.
Through GOOS and JCOMM, the IOC has
joined forces with the WMO and the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) in a joint Task Force
to explore the use of submarine communication
cables for the gathering of ocean data. Two major
areas of benefit are being explored: the use of cables
for tsunami early warning through the measurement
of bottom pressure and seismic activity, and the
use of cables for deep monitoring of ocean climate
changes.
GOOS Coastal
Observations
In supporting Member State goals in coastal areas, the GOOS
Panel for Integrated Coastal Observations published in 2012
a document (GOOS-193) that provides guidance on end-toend coastal observing systems, including observations, data
management, modelling, and decision-support tools, for
ecosystem-based approaches to managing human uses of
coastal ecosystem services and adapting to climate change. In
addressing seven different societal challenges (‘phenomena of
interest’), it describes building blocks that give IOC Member
States advice and guidance based on their own coastal
challenges and priorities. An identification of these regional
challenges has been at the core of an effort to reconnect with
the GOOS Regional Alliances in 2012 and 2013.
The JCOMM Services and Forecast Systems
Programme Area coordinates the provision of sea
IOC Report 2012-2013
33
The GOOS and JCOMM contribution to the Group on
Earth Observation’s Global Earth Observing System of
Systems (GEO/GEOSS) is being enhanced by IOC’s
lead of a component of the European Commission
GEOSS interoperability for Weather, Oceans, and
Water (GEOWOW) project (Sep. 2011–Aug. 2014). With
a particular focus on ocean ecosystem observations,
GEOWOW is improving the infrastructure to support
ocean assessment. The complementary GEF-funded
Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme
(TWAP) will assess global ocean issues related to
climate, ecosystems, fisheries and pollution, looking
at the local impact on vulnerable ocean ecosystems
or human systems. It engages a large number of
partner institutions, and provides strong user pull to
GEOWOW, with a focus on developing information to
Setting Standards
Returning to a historic vocation in setting scientific
standards, the IOC, with the endorsement of the
Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)
and the International Association for the Physical
Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO), adopted the
International Thermodynamic Equation Of Seawater
- 2010 (TEOS-10) as the
official description of
seawater and ice
properties in marine
science. All
oceanographers are
now urged to use the
new TEOS-10
algorithms and variables
to report their work
(IOC Manuals and
Guides, 56).
34
IOC Report 2012-2013
JCOMM’s Expert
Team on Operational
Ocean Forecast
Systems (722)6
JCOMM’s Expert Team on Operational Ocean
Forecast Systems (ETOOFS) was created in 2007
(JCOMM MAN-6) to coordinate ocean forecast
systems that are now operational in many regions.
IOC has taken the lead in supporting this team,
which is developing standards for intercomparison
and a Guide that will be the basis of capacity
development, to extend ocean forecasting
services to a greater number of Member States.
JCOMM provides a focal point for WMO’s growing
recognition of the importance of ocean observations
and services in their work, providing another
powerful advocate for oceanography.
improve future GEF strategy in investing to improve
the ocean environment. TWAP commenced in
January 2013 and will run for two years. There are
two complementary marine components focused on
the global ocean and the Large Marine Ecosystems.
GOOS and JCOMM activities engage many global
networks, GOOS Regional Alliances, and national
contributions. At present, IOC Secretariat support
to GOOS and JCOMM consists of two Regular
Programme professional staff at headquarters,
augmented by a secondment from China for JCOMM,
two programme specialists for GEOWOW, and
strong links to the Secretariat of the OOPC (now in
Geneva, Switzerland) and the IOCCP (now in Sopot,
Poland). With its growing emphasis on biology and
ecosystems, GOOS has also engaged strongly with
OBIS (programme specialist in Ostend, Belgium).
Support for all of six of these extrabudgetary positions
that help Member States coordinate into a coherent
global system is assured only through mid-2014.
World Climate Research
3URJUDPPH:&53
The IOC remains a sponsor of the World Climate
Research Programme along with WMO and ICSU.
Due to the financial situation it was unable to make a
contribution in 2012 and made a small contribution
in 2013. The Climate Variability and Predictability
Project of WCRP (CLIVAR) remains closest to the
work of the IOC. It has adopted five new research
focii:
· Intraseasonal,
seasonal
and
interannual
variability and predictability of monsoon systems;
· Decadal variability and predictability of ocean
and climate variability;
· Trends, nonlinearities and extreme events;
· Marine biophysical interactions and dynamics of
upwelling systems; and
· Dynamics of regional sea level variability.
The WCRP is also a partner in the TWAP open ocean
assessment, providing expertise in the climate
projections being used in the assessment. (See
document IOC/INF-1298)
International Ocean Carbon
&RRUGLQDWLRQ3URMHFW,2&&3
IOC/UNESCO provides Support for IOCCP activities
together with the US National Science Foundation and
ICSU’s Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research
(SCOR). One major event during 2012 was the
international time-series methods workshop, jointly
convened by the IOCCP and the Ocean Carbon &
Biogeochemistry (OCB) Programme. The workshop
offered a platform to compare time series in order to
avoid duplication, to adopt common standards and
to maximize the utility of data. It focused specifically
on the methods employed by the specific time
series, aiming at enhancement of data comparability
among sites.
Currently IOC is working on a new compilation of
existing biogeochemical time series and has put
IOC Report 2012-2013
35
together the 33 sites presented at the Workshop
with others from the North Atlantic (including the
Baltic and the Mediterranean Seas). In total, 125
biogeochemical time series have been compiled
from around the world, which could be the embryo for
a monitoring network for standardized measurement
of ocean acidification.
IOCCP
In ocean science, IOC has worked in a number of areas for the standardization of methods in order to allow better sharing of data.
The International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP) was able to improve compatibility and comparability of results of ocean
carbon data and deliver products that can be integrated with the terrestrial, atmospheric and human dimensions components of the global
carbon cycle. The IOCCP Surface Ocean CO2 database (SOCAT) reached 6.3 million surface water CO2 data in 2012. IOC has worked with
IOCCP, NOAA and other partners to establish an International Ocean Acidification Observing System. A total of 125 biogeochemical time
series have been compiled from around the world, which could be the embryo for a monitoring network for standardized measurement
of ocean acidification. IOC co-sponsored, together with Conservation International (CI) and the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), a Scientific Working Group on Blue Carbon and a field guideline published in 2013.
Ocean in a High-CO2 World
Third International Symposium on the Ocean in a
High-CO2 World: The series of International Symposia
on the ‘Ocean in a high CO2 World’, co-organized
by the IOC, SCOR and the International GeosphereBiosphere Programme (IGBP), began in Paris in
2004, followed by Monaco in 2008 and Monterey in
2012. The 3rd symposium in Monterey was attended
by a total of 529 scientists from 34 countries. They
presented new information about the ability or inability
of organisms at different trophic levels to cope
with decreasing pH levels. The conference clearly
emphasized the need for combining the stressor CO2
36
IOC Report 2012-2013
with other factors such as temperature, nutrient
availability and hypoxia. An ‘Ocean Acidification
summary for policy makers’, coordinated by the
IGBP and the IOC, was published (http://unesdoc.unesco.
org/images/0022/002247/224724E.pdf). The information in the
summary identifies advances and significant findings
in our understanding of ocean acidification. (See also
SC/IOC/2009/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/H/1).
Coastal Adaptation
In June 2012, IOC completed the implementation
of the Project on Adaptation to Climate Change on
the Coasts of West Africa (ACCC). Through this fouryear project funded by GEF, five countries (Senegal,
Mauritania, Cape Verde, Gambia, and Guinea
Bissau) received financial and technical assistance
to develop coastal adaptation measures and to build
the adaptive capacity of coastal communities. A final
regional symposium was organized in Dakar (June
2012) to present the results of the project and to plan
for a second phase regional approach with potential
donors. Furthermore, the ACCC project developed
the first Coastal Adaptation Guidelines for Local
Decision Makers, developed by African scientists for
African practitioners, and available in three languages
(English, French, Portuguese, IOC Manuals and
Guides, 62). A new ACCC website was launched in
July 2012. It presents all the results achieved in the
context of the project as well as providing access to
technical resources for experts and managers. An
educational video on coastal climate impacts was
also produced and presented at the final Regional
Symposium. A detailed project document for a
second phase of the project has been prepared
and distributed to the project Steering Committee. A
number of potential donors have been approached.
Climate Change
Climate variability and climate change modify the
functioning of many ocean processes creating
adverse impacts on marine ecosystems and the
goods and services they provide and IOC has
addressed this problem through a number of
initiatives. GLOBEC, the Global Ocean Ecosystem
Dynamics, a joint programme between SCOR, IGBP
and IOC created a community of practice involving
1800 scientist, with more than 3000 papers
published in peer review journals, a conceptual
approach to marine ecosystems and scientific legacy
that still continues in 25 countries. GLOBEC officially
concluded its timeline in 2010 but it is recognized
by the sponsoring organizations (SCOR, IGBP and
IOC) as a very successful project and an inspiration
to others.
IOC Report 2012-2013
37
International Indian Ocean Expedition
WK$QQLYHUVDU\,QLWLDWLYH,,2(
Following the Assembly Decision IOC-XXVII/
Dec.5.1.2 to further examine a prospective International Indian Ocean Expedition 50th Anniversary
Initiative (IIOE-2) the Perth Programme Office in
support of the IOC, in collaboration with SCOR and
IOGOOS, has co-chaired 3 reference group meetings (India, May 2013; China, November 2013; and
Mauritius, March 2014) as part of developing an
outline of the science priorities and governance
structure for an IIOE-2. A number of core priorities
have emerged (physical oceanography and atmos-
38
IOC Report 2012-2013
pheric science; biogeochemical and ecosystem
science; societal drivers; capacity building and data
and information management), which through technological advancements and international collaborative structures will allow IIOE-2 to examine a suite
of contemporary environmental questions about the
Indian Ocean. IIOE-2 if implemented between 20152020 has the potential to unlock much that is critically
relevant to the socio-economic and environmental
interest of Indian Ocean rim and island countries, as
well as adjacent regions.
High-level Objective 3
6DIHJXDUGLQJWKHKHDOWKRI
RFHDQHFRV\VWHPV
Microscopic fragments of plastic – or microplastics –
are pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter and are a global
marine pollutant. Credit: Current Biology, Wright et al.
Read more at:
http://phys.org/news/2013-12-microplastics-marine-worms-sick.html#jCp
Large Marine
(FRV\VWHP1HWZRUN
In terms of understanding and management of
marine ecosystems, the IOC continues its support to
the Large Marine Ecosystem network, which provides
quantitative information and indices of change
on environmental aspects, as well as the tools for
scientific comparisons at the appropriate scales. A
Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded project on
LME was recently funded, with the Secretariat to be
established at the IOC.
IndiSeas
IOC also provides support to IndiSeas, which is an
international collaborative programme started under
the auspices of the European Network of Excellence
EUROCEANS. IndiSeas integrates multi-disciplinary
ecosystem indicators, including climate change,
biodiversity and human dimension to evaluate the
status of the world’s exploited marine ecosystems
in support of the ecosystem based management
approach.
Micro-Plastics
LQWKH0DULQH(QYLURQPHQW
IOC is leading the Joint Group of Experts on the
Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection
(GESAMP) WG40 “Sources, Fate & Effects of Microplastics in the Marine Environment” aimed at setting
up the current state of knowledge and knowledge
gaps on: (i) sources, distribution and trends of
micro-plastics; (ii) properties and degradation of
40
IOC Report 2012-2013
polymers; and (iii) physical and chemical effects
of micro-plastics. The expected outcome is the
production of an assessment on the potential impact
of micro-plastics on the marine environment to assist
decision-making within relevant UN agencies and in
the wider community.
International Oceanographic Data
DQG,QIRUPDWLRQ([FKDQJH,2'(
The Memorandum of Understanding between IOC/
UNESCO and the Government of Flanders (Belgium)
was renewed on 30 March 2012 and will expire on
31 December 2016. Through the MoU Flanders
will continue providing the Offices, costs of utilities,
and maintenance costs and provide not less than
€ 250,000/year (to be used as a contribution towards
the operational expenses and programme activities
of the Project Office) as well as not less than three
FTE staff (Administrative assistant, IT system
administrator and Training coordinator).
The 22nd Session of the IODE Committee adopted
20 recommendations that provide a clear path for
IODE’s restructuring and re-organization. The key
recommendations established a joint IAMSLICIODE group of experts on marine information
management, an ocean data standards and best
practices project and associated clearing house
for data/information management practices, the
IODE Associate Data Unit and IODE Global Data
Assembly Centres as new structural elements,
the IODE Quality Management Framework, and
also revised the IODE objectives. The Committee
adopted a work plan and budget that, taking into
account the UNESCO financial situation, would
be based mainly on income from extrabudgetary
sources. The Committee re-elected Ms Sissy Iona
(Greece) and Mr Ariel Troisi (Argentina) as IODE
Co-Chairs. (see report IOC/IODE-XXII/3s)
Regarding the IODE Ocean Data Portal (EC-XLV/
Dec.4.2.1), a Memorandum of Understanding has
been concluded between IOC and Roshydromet
(Russian Federation) on the Partnership Centre
for the IODE Ocean Data Portal. The Centre was
inaugurated on 10th September 2013. In addition,
Canada is providing an in-kind contribution to the
IODE Ocean Data Portal project by providing parttime staff support (ODP Project Manager).
IODE
The IOC Project Office for IODE, established in April 2005, enabled the creation of a global technical training centre. This was
combined with the development of the OceanTeacher training platform into the OceanTeacher Academy. The result has been
the training of over one thousand students from over one hundred Member States and the online availability of all course
materials as well as documented knowledge (digital library). OceanTeacher is now gradually expanding to other programme
areas confirming IOC’s commitment to achieve equitable participation of all Member States in ocean research, observation and
services.
IOC Report 2012-2013
41
· 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; and
· Resource availability and extraction.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information
Services (INCOIS) has established the International
Training Centre for Operational Oceanography
(“ITCOocean”) at Hyderabad as a contribution to
IOC’s training and capacity development activities
mainly for the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries.
The proposed ITCOocean will co-operate with IOC’s
IODE programme based in Ostend, Belgium. This
will include the use of the IODE OceanTeacher
content, the joint organization of training events by
exchange of lecturers, the use of tele-presence and
video conferencing technology-based lectures by
the ITCOocean. A Memorandum of Understanding
was signed between the Government of India and
the IOC on 5 July 2013 during the 27th Session of
the IOC Assembly.
After approval by IODE-XXII (see above) the
International Coastal Atlas Network (ICAN) was
established as an IODE project. The strategic goal
of IODE/ICAN 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. These atlases can be local,
regional, national or international in scale. Many of
these atlases will play an important role in informing
national and regional decision- and policy-making
across several themes:
42
IOC Report 2012-2013
Throughout 2012-2013 IODE organized 22 courses
involving 365 students from 68 Member States
(192 men, 173 women). Most courses were hosted at
the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium.
Ocean Biogeographic Information System
2%,6
The 25th Session of IOC Assembly (June 2009),
adopted OBIS within its IODE Programme (IOCXXV/4). In order to secure the necessary funding for
the project manager and activities, IOC established
a multi-source account for the support of OBIS within
the IOC Special Account. In 2010, contributions were
provided by Australia, Brazil and Canada. A contract
was established in 2011 with Rutgers University to
ensure a continuation of the OBIS operations and a
smooth transition from being a private foundationled activity under the Census of Marine Life, to
become part of an intergovernmental programme.
Unfortunately the contractual arrangement could
OBIS
OBIS is the world’s largest global online openaccess database on the diversity, distribution
and abundance of all marine life. It is unique in
that it provides a baseline, against which future
change can be measured and is used around the
globe for planning ocean conservation policies,
identifying biodiversity hotspots and global trends
in species distributions. Through OBIS, IOC’s IODE
adds biological data to its data coverage. OBIS will
provide a substantial contribution to IOC’s mandate
on climate change by addressing the impact of
climate change on marine biodiversity.
not be continued in 2012 and the Project Office at
Rutgers University, requested through IOC-XXVI/6,
could not be established. The OBIS Secretariat
therefore moved to the IOC Project Office for IODE in
Ostend (Belgium) and this provided additional cost
savings.
The IODE Steering Group for OBIS and the IODE
Group of Experts for OBIS (IOC-XXVI/3) were
formally established. The Steering Group met twice
in 2011 and 2012. The steering group is composed
of the 22 OBIS node managers and representatives
of the 4 institutions (VLIZ, MGEL, USB, INCOIS) that
provide in-kind contributions to OBIS. The Group
of Experts, which replaces the previous OBIS
international scientific committee, is composed of
four long-term and four short-term members, but has
not yet met due to lack of funding.
IODE was invited to participate, through OBIS, in the
iMarine EU FP7 project. iMarine started in November
2011 and ended in April 2014. This revenue has
enabled co-financing of a P-3 project manager for
OBIS. In addition, a P-1 data manager for OBIS is
being recruited at the IODE Project Office.
OBIS continues to grow and has established a
network of hundreds of data providers around the
globe. Since January 2011, 210 new datasets were
added to OBIS, representing 5 million records and
5,000 marine species that were not yet in OBIS.
In total, OBIS now integrates 1,130 datasets, and
serves 35 million observations of 120,000 marine
IOC Report 2012-2013
43
species. It provides the world’s largest global online
open-access database on the diversity, distribution
and abundance of all known marine life and is an
important baseline, against which future change
can be measured. OBIS is used around the globe
for planning ocean conservation policies, identifying
biodiversity hotspots and global trends in species
distributions.
On 21 May 2012, Circular Letter 2441 was issued
requesting IOC Member States for extrabudgetary
funding for OBIS.
Harmful Algal Blooms
Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) impact many sectors of society namely food safety,
public health, sustainable aquaculture and tourism. IOC therefore focuses on
providing guidance and coupling recent findings with improved management. Advice
on seafood safety is provided to Member States by a Task Team on biotoxins which
also links with FAO and WHO initiatives and responsibilities addressed by the Codex
Committee on Fish and Fishery Products. Major progress was made in providing a
‘Harmful Algal Information System’ in cooperation with IODE, to provide open and
free access to data on HAB occurrences and impacts with the view to developing
regular Global HAB Status Reports. The IOC Newsletter on HAB, ‘Harmful Algae
News’ celebrated its 20 years anniversary in 2012 with the launch of a new on-line
version and provided scientists, managers, students and interested public with news
on HAB events worldwide as well as information on international cooperation for
mutual benefit and enhancement of capacity to cope with the impacts of harmful
algal events on society.
Harmful Algal Blooms
+$%
The work plan of the IOC Intergovernmental Panel
on Harmful Algal Blooms (IPHAB), including the IOCSCOR research programme GEOHAB, has been
implemented within the limits of the reduced budget.
GEOHAB has been in a very productive period
44
IOC Report 2012-2013
leading up to a synthesis conference which was held
24-26 April 2013 at UNESCO Headquarters. The
outcome of GEOHAB (1998-2013) was reviewed by
the 11th Session of the IOC Intergovernmental Panel
on Harmful Algal Blooms (IPHAB) and provided the
basis for IPHAB recommending to the Assembly an
agenda for HAB research for the next decade under
the name GlobalHAB. (See report IOC/IPHAB-XI/3s)
A joint IOC-ICES-PICES workshop was held in March
2013 to plan for a larger initiative specifically on
HABs in a Changing World. A review of the usage
of ocean colour for detecting phytoplankton biomass
and community dynamics has been initiated jointly
between GEOHAB and the International Ocean Colour
Coordination Group (IOCCG), and cooperation with
industry partners have been initiated on the effects of
HABs on desalination of seawater.
With the support of Flanders, the ‘Harmful Algal
Information System’ was upgraded to better serve
both data providers and end users. This IOC/IODE
data product, which is operated jointly with ICES
and PICES, is the only one of its kind and provides
a global system for compilation of HAB-eventrelated data and metadata and links with the World
Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and with OBIS.
The IOC training courses on HABs have achieved
international recognition and during the biennium
10 courses were held hosted by the IOC Science
and Communication Centre on Harmful Algae at the
University of Copenhagen, Denmark, or by various
Member State institutions for regional and in-country
training. With the support of Republic of Korea/Yeosu,
a regional GEOHAB project was implemented in SE
Asia with focus on ciguatera and other toxic benthic
HAB events. The production of the IOC newsletter
‘Harmful Algae News’ was sponsored by the Institute
of Marine Investigation (of CSIC), Spain, and the
University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Nutrient Pollution
The IOC Assembly at its 26th session endorsed the
revised plan (Resolution XXV-9) for a new activity
focusing on integrated coastal research and coastal
eutrophication and linking nutrient sources to coastal
ecosystem effects and management in particular;
Sewage
Outfall
© Steve
Spring / Marine
Photobank
the IOC Nutrients and Coastal Impacts Research
Programme (N-CIRP). A key component in the
implementation strategy is a three year Joint UNEPIOC GEF Project “Global foundations for reducing
nutrient enrichment and oxygen depletion from land
based pollution” which was launched in March 2012.
The Project will lead to the development of a policy
toolbox and execution of a nutrient reduction pilot
project in the Manila Bay watershed in the Philippines
and Chilika Lake in India. The IOC co-financing of
the Project, which disappeared with the UNESCO
budget situation, was for 2012 re-secured through
the UNESCO Emergency Fund, As part of the
implementation strategy for N-CIRP, IOC also actively
participates in a ’Global Partnership on Nutrient
Management’ (GPNM) with NGO’s and governments.
IOC Report 2012-2013
45
&THCDNM"N@RS@K1HRJ1DCTBSHNM
IRU/RFDO$XWKRULWLHV
In the context of the Integrated Coastal Area
Management, ICAM, Strategy adopted by the 26th
IOC Assembly, Objective 3 (Promoting the integration
of climate change adaptation and coastal hazards
preparedness through the use of area-based
management approaches) a Technical Working
Group was established in 2011, composed of natural
and social scientists, coastal engineers and coastal
zone managers. The group is tasked with preparing a
guide on Coastal Risk Reduction for Local Authorities.
The guide will identify best practices related to the
identification and formulation of adaptation/mitigation
strategies and plans that lower the risk and actual
losses from marine related hazards, including climate
change impacts. The Group had its final meeting in
January 2013 in South Korea. Support was provided
by WMO, the Republic of Korea and Flanders. The
Guide was published in September 2013.
Marine Spatial Planning
063,QLWLDWLYH
IOC has worked for the past five years on developing
technical guidance on marine spatial planning
(MSP) and in 2009 published IOC Manual and
Guide 53 on the subject. The guide has been used
in several Member States. A new IOC Guide is now
in preparation thanks to the support of the Moore
Foundation. The new guide expands advice on the
practice of implementing monitoring and evaluation
46
IOC Report 2012-2013
of MSP initiatives. As part of the project, examples
of good practices of MSP performance monitoring
and evaluation are being documented and made
available on the IOC MSP Website. An International
Panel of Experts and Advisors to support the
development of the MSP Performance Monitoring
and Evaluation Guide has been established and has
met three times.
Marine Spatial Planning
In the field of Marine Spatial Planning, IOC, in June 2009, published the Guide “Marine Spatial Planning: a step-by-step
approach toward ecosystem-based management”. Over 5,000 copies have been distributed and downloaded from the IOC
website. The guide has been translated in French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The guide has been
widely used, e.g. in Massachusetts and Washington by the National Ocean Policy Task Force, in British Columbia, Canada, in
Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, New Zealand, China, Vietnam and Costa Rica. The IOC Guide has greatly contributed to the
visibility of IOC and has been quoted as one of the “best practical reference to MSP in the world” by the Marine Conservation
Institute of USA and cited in almost every publication related to MSP over the past few years. In August 2011, IOC received an
additional grant from the Moore Foundation to develop a second guide to performance monitoring and evaluation of marine
spatial plans that will be published in July 2013.
Regional ICAM Projects
63,1&$0
The first phase of the South Pacific Information and
Data Management in support of ICAM, (SPINCAM),
was completed in June 2012. The project has
supported the development of a coastal indicator
framework in each country of the Southeast
Pacific region (Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama
and Peru), focused on environmental and socioeconomic conditions. The countries have also
developed a number of regional indicators on the
marine environment, measured and represented
through a common regional atlas hosted by
Permanent Commission for the South Pacific
(CPPS). The SPINCAM countries have recognized
the benefits of the project and the need for a
second phase that will focus on the formulation of
new regional indicators and will develop a regional
information sharing mechanism providing resources
and contents on Integrated Coastal Management.
In October 2012, the Government of Flanders
agreed to fund the SPINCAM Phase II project which
will run from 2013 to 2015. A P2 staff secondment
was provided to the Secretariat to assist with the
implementation of the project, and related coastal
management initiatives.
IOC Report 2012-2013
47
3(*$62
The aim of Portal on People for Ecosystem Based
Governance in Assessing Sustainable Development
of Ocean and Coast (PEGASO) is to build on existing
capacities and develop common novel approaches
to support integrated policies for the coastal, marine
and maritime realms of the Mediterranean and Black
Sea Basins in ways that are consistent with and
relevant to the implementation of the ICZM Protocol
for the Mediterranean. IOC has led the development
of a set of indicators for the implementation of the
ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean which are also
widely applicable in the context of the implementation
of Integrated Coastal Zone Management elsewhere.
Twenty six methodological factsheets and a report
containing guidelines have been developed as well
as a video for capacity building.
48
IOC Report 2012-2013
The PEGASO Project
ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone
Management) Mediterranean and
Black Seas
High-level Objective 4
0DQDJHPHQWSURFHGXUHVDQG
SROLFLHVOHDGLQJWRWKHVXVWDLQDELOLW\
RIFRDVWDODQGRFHDQHQYLURQPHQW
DQGUHVRXUFHV
World Ocean Assessment :2$
IOC has continued to provide scientific and
technical support to the Regular Process for Global
Assessment and Reporting on the State of the
Marine Environment, including social and economic
aspects, now called the World Ocean Assessment
(WOA) in line with the invitations of the relevant
UNGA resolutions.
IOC participated in the UNGA Ad Hoc Working
Groups of the WOA in April 2012 and 2013. It
participated in all UN regional workshops organized to
promote the WOA at regional level (Europe Workshop,
Brussels, Belgium, June 2012, SE Asian Workshop,
Sanya, PR China, Feb. 2012, Indian Ocean, Maputo,
Mozambique, August 2012, Caribbean workshop,
Miami, USA, Nov. 2012; Australia, Brisbane, February
2013). IOC was a co-organiser for three of these
Transboundary Water
$VVHVVPHQW3URJUDPPH
7:$3
In 2012, the formulation of the Transboundary Water
Assessment Programme (TWAP) was completed
and submitted to the GEF for funding. The project
was approved in December 2012, and started
in March 2013 when IOC convened an inception
workshop for the Open Ocean and Large Marine
Ecosystem components that it is leading. The
project will provide a number of core ecological,
socio-economic and governance indicators for the
50
IOC Report 2012-2013
workshops (Sanya, Miami and Brussels) and provided
substantial technical inputs.
Through an extra budgetary contribution of
Flanders, together with UNEP, IOC provided support
for the development of the WOA website. The site
also provides a mechanism for the WOA authors
to collaborate in the process of drafting the WOA
report.
IOC has identified a number of contributions in
terms of information and data products that will be
made available to the Group of experts in charge
of coordinating the drafting of the Global report.
IOC participated as observer in the WOA Group
of experts meetings (NY, November 2012 and May
2013) and offered these inputs to the group.
marine environment (64 Large Marine Ecosystems
and Open Ocean areas) using globally available
datasets. In order to implement this project, IOC
has created partnerships with a number of scientific
institutions that will provide technical inputs and
indicator based products (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), GESAMP,
IGBP, University of British Colombia, UNEP, UNEPWCMC, Centre for Resource Management and
Environmental Studies (CERMES), amongst others).
These assessment products will be available at the
end of 2014 and could provide a substantial input
into the World Ocean Assessment report.
IOC participated in the annual GESAMP Session
and continued to play an active role in the GESAMP
Working group on Micro-plastics. GESAMP will also
be a key partner in the implementation of the TWAP.
Administration and Management
Recruitment process of the IOC Executive Secretary:
during the 45th Session of the Executive Council, the
Executive Secretary informed the Council that her
appointment would end in November 2013 and a
timeline for the process of recruiting the new Executive
Secretary was decided (document IOC/EC-XLV/2
Annex 4). However, the Director-General of UNESCO,
in January 2013, after a meeting with the IOC Officers,
agreed to extend the appointment of the present
Executive Secretary up to January 2015. A new time
line was established by the Executive Council during
its 46th Session (see IOC/EC-XLVI/2 Prov.)
Challenges and Lessons Learned
IOC has had to undergo the challenge of performing
with dwindling financial resources and reduced staff.
In the context of the current financial difficulties, the
most important concern is the vulnerability of the
IOC staffing situation. While the freeze of two regular
budget-funded professional positions (JCOMM and
Executive Officer/NEAMTWS Secretary) had its
impact on IOC’s delivery capacity, in particular as
regards JCOMM activities and the North-Eastern
Atlantic and the Mediterranean Tsunami Warning
System (NEAMTWS), the most important impact
in terms of staff was caused by the suspension of
USA voluntary contributions. This led to the loss
of five positions (two JCOMM Observing Platform
Support Centre posts and one Ocean Observation
Panel for Climate (OOPC) coordinator post to WMO;
one International Ocean Carbon Coordination
Project (IOCCP) officer and one assistant project
officer to ICSUs Scientific Committee on Oceanic
Research (SCOR). While IOC managed to maintain
its involvement in the programmes through
partnerships with WMO and SCOR, its leadership
and impact are clearly reduced, and the delivery as
a platform for coordination of the ocean observing
system through GOOS and JCOMM is dispersed
geographically.
IOC Report 2012-2013
51
Annex
FUNDING FOR IOC PROGRAMMES1
Introduction
*HQHUDORYHUYLHZ
This Biennial Report describes a wide spectrum
of activities that highlight the relevance of the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of
UNESCO’s programmes in 2012-2013. Programme
implementation and related staff costs during this
period were financed from regular programme
allocation approved by the General Conference of
UNESCO as part of the Organization’s programme
and budget for 2012-2013 (36 C/5), and from
extrabudgetary resources, notably those provided
by IOC Member States and partner organizations
through their contributions to the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO Special
Account and contributions for specific projects
through the creation of UNESCO Funds-in-Trust. This
financial report does not consider other contributions
(either direct or in-kind) provided by Member States.
More detailed financial information, including the
very substantial direct funding of the IOC Offices
in Ostend and Perth can be found in the ‘Report on
budget execution 2012-2013’ prepared for the 47th
Session of the IOC Executive Council (document
IOC/EC-XLVII/2 Annex 2).
Governance
11%
HLO 4
11%
Regular budget
38%
Extrabudgetary
62%
Chart 1
2012-2013 Total Expenditure by source (Regular
Programme Budget vs Extrabudgetary –
Total: US $19,826,445
1
HLO 3
36%
Common costs
2%
HLO 1
27%
HLO 2
20%
Chart 2
2010 Expenditure on programme operations by
High Level Objectives (all sources) –
Total US $12,835,941
Authoritative figures are those contained in the financial statements prepared by the Bureau of Financial Management
IOC Report 2012-2013
53
Regular programme
The General Conference of UNESCO at its 36th
Session adopted the Organization’s Programme
and Budget for 2012-2013 (36 C/5), with the total
appropriation of $653 million.
However, due to the cash-flow problems experienced
by the Organization, the actual 2012-2013 budgetary
allocation to the IOC was revised as follows. Here the
figures are compared to previous Programme and
Budget 2010-2011 (35 C/5).
The allocation of regular budget resources by
programme activities was guided by Resolution
XXVI-12 of the IOC Assembly (June 2011) ‘IOC
Biennial Priorities and Implementation Strategy and
Draft Programme and Budget for 2012-2013’.
To the resources allocated to the IOC under
UNESCO’s regular budget and shown in Table 2
above, should be added $1,1 M allocated by the
Director-General of UNESCO from the UNESCO
Emergency Fund, thus raising the total funding
available for programme activities from 26% to 58%
of the 36 C/5 approved.
IOC requests to the Emergency Fund were based
on the priorities endorsed by the IOC Executive
Council at its 45th Session in June 2012 in Annex B
to Decision EC-XLV/Dec.5.1 (Status of IOC Budget
and Priority Funding Plan for 2012-2013).
(In US
dollars)
36 C/5
Approved
Provisional
Workplan
envelope of
$465M
35 C/5
(2010-2011)
Programme
activities
3 439 400
842 199
3 449 900
Staff
6 966 000
6 689 600
6 037 300
10 405 400
7 531 799
9 487 200
Total
Extrabudgetary funding
IOC’s extrabudgetary resources include voluntary
contributions to the IOC Special Account and
contributions to specific projects under Funds-inTrust agreements. Details on contributions to and
expenditures from the IOC Special Account and
Funds-in-Trust can be found in the ‘Report on budget
execution 2012-2013’ prepared for the 47th Session of
the IOC Executive Council (IOC/EC-XLVII/2 Annex 2).
Chart 3
Main extrabudgetary donors – based on 2012-2013 revenue/
contributions to the IOC Special Account and to the Funds-in-Trust –
Total of US $12,065,149.62
54
IOC Report 2012-2013
.UDQUHDVNESGD(."
6WDIƄQJ6LWXDWLRQ
The cash flow difficulties faced by the Organization
in this biennium also had a considerable impact on
the IOC staffing situation.
With regard to the 36 C/5 approved staff establishment, two professional posts and one general
services post were frozen for the entire biennium
(Executive Officer, JCOMM Programme Specialist
and assistant in the office of ADG/IOC), and two other
general services posts (one in Ocean Observations
Section and one in Ocean Science Section) were
frozen in 2013.
The freeze of two regular budget-funded
professional positions had its impact on IOC’s
delivery capacity, in particular due to the departure
of a temporary staff who assumed the tasks of
the focal point for the North-eastern Atlantic and
the Mediterranean Tsunami Warning System
(NEAMTWS) in addition to those of the Executive
Officer. However, the most important impact in
terms of staff was caused by the suspension of
USA voluntary contributions. This led to the loss
of 5 positions (2 JCOMM Observing Platform
Support Centre posts and 1 Ocean Observation
Panel for Climate (OOPC) coordinator post to
WMO; International Ocean Carbon Coordination
Project (IOCCP) officer and assistant project
officer – project with Polish National Academy).
While IOC managed to maintain its involvement in
the programmes through partnerships with WMO
and SCOR, its leadership and impact are clearly
reduced, in particular as regards the North-eastern
Atlantic and the Mediterranean Tsunami Warning
System (NEAMTWS).
In this context, the secondment/loan of staff by China
(2 professionals, one to the Ocean Observations
Section at HQ and one to WESTPAC Secretariat
in Bangkok), Republic of Korea (1 professional
to the Ocean Sciences Section at HQ), Kenya
(one professional to the IOCAFRICA Secretariat in
Nairobi) and Belgium (one professional to the Ocean
Sciences Section at HQ) are particularly welcome.
The IOC organizational chart 2012-2013 on the next
page shows the affected posts and employees in
italics in brackets.
IOC Report 2012-2013
55
Structure of the IOC Secretariat
Office of ADG/Executive Secretary of IOC
W. Watson-Wright (ADG/IOC)
M Bhikajee (Deputy Executive Secretary/Head of CB
Section)
(36 C/5 Executive Offficer post)
(S. Belfiore (part-time))
P. Boned
I. Brugnon (part-time)
I. Oliounine (part-time)
R. Herve-Smadja
(36 C/5 Office Assistant post)
D. Mooneesawmy/I. Chavez (part-time)
Administrative Unit
IODE Project Office Ostend
K. Yvinec (also EO a.i.)
H.H. Lam (aslo asist. OSS)
V. Bonnet (also assist. OSS)
P. Pissierssens (Had of Office)
W. Appeltans
A. Naik-Kakodkar
M. Flavell
Ocean Observations Section
Tsunami Unit
Ocean Sciences Section
Capacity Building Section & Regions
A. Fischer (Head of Section)
T. Gross
(36 C/5 Programme Specialist post – JCOMM)
( OOPC Coordinator – XB post)
S. Grimes
B. Combal
L. Jiang
I. Gazagne
F. Collins
S. Haond
L. Ferry
T. Aarup (Head of Unit a.i.)
B. Aliaga
M. Yamamoto
(S. Belfiore (part-time))
F. Santoro (part-time)
C. Hauke
S. Sermeno
L. Valdes (Head of Section)
J. Barbiere
Hyun-Taek Lim
A. Iglesias-Campos
(IOCCP Coordinator XB post – K. Tedesco)
(M. Telszewski) /K. Isensee
F. Santoro (part-time)
(C. Le Conan – 36 C/5 Office Assistant post)
D. Mooneesawmy/I. Chavez (part-time)
M. Bhikajee (Head of Section)
J. Ahanhanzo
O. Miyaki
E. Iasyreva
JCOMMOBS Toulouse
(M. Belbeoch)
(K. Stroker)
seconded to WMO
ICG-IOTWS Perth
HAB Centre Copenhagen
A. Elliott
J. Cunneen/N.Gale
H. Enevoldsen
IOCARIBE Kingston & Cartagena
C. Toro
P. Wills Velez
WESTPAC Bangkok
W. Zhu
Z. Li
N. Saransunth
T. Hnoonim
OC Jakarta
A. Kodijat
IOC AFRICA (Nairobi)
M. Odido
C. Magori
IOC Apia
R. Prasad
Muscat, Oman
F. Fauzi
IOC Port-au-Prince
D. P. Mosquera Calle
2QOLQH$QQH[
Annexes containing Publications and Meetings for the period 2011-2013 are available in Annexes of the on-line
version of this report found at: http://ioc-unesco.org/AnnualReports
56
IOC Report 2012-2013
List of Acronyms
ABE-LOS
ACCC
CD
CERMES
Advisory Body of Experts on the Law of the Sea (IOC)
Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Zones Project
Capacity Development (IOC)
Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies,
Univ. West Indies
CIFDP
Coastal Inundation Forecasting Demonstration Project
CLIVAR
Climate Variability and Predictability Project of WCRP
CLME
Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem
CMA
Caribbearn Marine Atlas
CPPS
Permanent Commission for the South Pacific
CTIC
Caribbean Tsunami Information Centre
DBCP
Data Buoy Cooperation Panel
DOALOS
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UN)
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
GEF
Global Environment Facility
GEO
Group on Earth Obervations
GEO BON
Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network
GEOHAB
International Science Programme on the Global Ecology
and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms
GEOSS
Global Earth Observation System of Systems
GEOWOW GEOSS Interoperability for Weather, Oceans and Water
GESAMP
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine
Environmental Protection (IMO-FAO-UNESCO-WMO-WHOIAEA-UN-UNEP-UNIDO)
GLOBEC
Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics
GOOS
Global Ocean Observing System
GO-SHIP
Global Ocean Ship-Based Hydrographic Investigations Programme
HAB
Harmful Algal Blooms
HAB-ANCA HAB Alga Nocivas de Caribe
HLO
High Level Objectives (IOC)
IAMSLIC
International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries
and Information
ICAM
Integrated Coastal Area Management Programme (IOC)
ICG
Intergovernmental Coordination Group (for regional tsunami
warning systems) (IOC)
ICSU
International Council for Science
ICZM
Integrated Coastal Zone Management
IGAD
Intergovernmental Authority on Development
IGBP
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
IIOE
International Indian Ocean Expedition
IndiSeas
Indicators for the Seas
IOCAFRICA IOC Sub-Commission for Africa and the Adjacent Island States
IOCARIBE IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions
IOCEA
IOC Regional Committee for the Eastern Atlantic
IOCCP
International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project
IOCWIO
IOC Regional Committee for the Western Indian Ocean
IODE
International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IOC)
IGAD
Intergovernmental Authority on Development
ICAN
International Coastal Atlas Network
ICPAC
IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre
INCOIS
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
IOGOOS
Indian Ocean GOOS
IOTWS
Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOC)
IPHAB
Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms
ITIC
International Tsunami Information Centre
ITCOocean International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography
ITU
International Telecommunication Union
IWEco
JCOMM
JCOMMOPS
JMA
LME
MoU
MSP
N-CIRP
NEAMTIC
NEAMTWS
NGO
NOW
OBIS
ODIN
ODINAFRICA
ODINCARSA
ODP
OHRLLS
OOPC
PEGASO
PICES
PTWC
PTWS
Rio+20
RTSP
SCOR
SDG
SEA-GOOS
SIDS
SOT
SPINCAM
TEW
TSU
TWAP
UN
UNCLOS
UN-DESA
UNDP
UNEP
UNESCO
UNGA
WCRP
WESTPAC
WIOMSA
WMO
WOA
WOC
Integrating Water, Land & Ecosystems Management
in Caribbean SIDS (GEF project)
Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography
and Marine Meteorology
JCOMM In-Situ Observing and Platform Support Centre
Japan Meteorological Agency
Large Marine Ecosystems
Memorandum of Understanding
Marine Spatial Planning
Nutrients and Coastal Impacts Research Programme
Tsunami Information Centre for the North-Eastern Atlantic, the
Mediterranean and Connected Seas
Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-Eastern
Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas
Non Governmental Organization
Network Of Women in Ocean Science
Ocean Biogeographic Information System
Oceanographic Data and Information Network
Ocean Data and Information Network for Africa
Ocean Data and Information Network for the Caribbean
and South America Regions
Ocean Data Portal
Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed
Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States (UN)
Ocean Observations Panel for Climate
People for Ecosystem Based Governance in Assessing Sustainable
Development of Ocean and Coast (European Union project)
North Pacific Marine Science Organization
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System
UN Conference on Sustainable Development (2012)
Regional Tsunami Service Providers
Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research
Sustainable Development Goals
South East Asia GOOS Regional Alliance
Small Island Developing States
Ship Observations Team
South-East Pacific Data and Information Network in support
to Integrated Coastal Area Management
Tsunami Early Warning system
Tsunami Services Unit
Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme
United Nations
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UN Depatrment of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
United Nations General Assembly
World Climate Research Programme
IOC Regional Secretariat for the Sub-Commission
for the Western Pacific
Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association
World Meteorological Organization
World Ocean Assessment (UN)
World Ocean Council
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
8nited 1ations (ducational, 6cientiðc and Cultural Organi]ation (81(6CO)
7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris Cedex 07, France
Tel: +33 1 45 68 39 83/84
Fax: +33 1 45 68 58 12
http://ioc.unesco.org