Regional Marine Centre

Participants in the 5-day capacity building workshop for National Focal Points of the Observatory for Biodiversity and Protected Areas of West Africa (OBAPAO) was a successful event. The participants were drawn from the 16 West African countries members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) or the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Stating her view on the workshop, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria, Mrs Ebunoluwa Ajagun, said: "The goal and the objectives of the workshop were well achieved. I am leaving as a different person, in that I have gained more knowledge on OBAPAO and will definitely go back and share the knowledge and strive to make all the necessary corrections to the World Database on Protected Areas (WPDA) data for Nigeria." Mrs Ebunoluwa Ajagun, Federal Dapartment of Forestry,  Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria The purpose of the OBAPAO National Focal Points capacity building workshop...

Start-ups in the Earth observation (EO), Internet of Things (IoT) and Open Source Technology (OST) industry were called upon to turn the challenges faced within the industry into opportunities to solve problems and become money-making businesses. This call was made at a meeting organised at the University of Ghana from 12 -14 May 2021. Prof. George Wiafe, Director of the Regional Marine Centre, University of Ghana Indeed, the Regional Marine Centre in partnership with the Department of Computer Engineering of the University of Ghana (UG) has organised three days meeting to assess technological needs within the region to enable the creation of Earth Observation businesses in the marine and coastal environment. The meeting brought together representatives from industry, government institutions, academia and the private sector from Ghana and Nigeria. Group photograph of a section of participants at the meeting To successfully engage the EO, IoT and OST start-ups, there was a need to list...

Within the framework of the implementation of the communication strategy of the UG-GMES project whose main objective is to ensure communication and raise public awareness on the critical role of Earth observation in coastal and marine areas management to achieve sustainable development, the University of Ghana Consortium’s is launching a call for the recruitment of five (5) private companies to produce short videos documentaries. A consultant per country is needed in five countries (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal). Under the supervision of an institution partner to the project in a given west African country (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal), the private media company is expected to: Identify together with the partner institution, key marine or coastal challenges in the country to address. Promote the GMES and Africa (Marine) project by producing 2 shorts video documentaries of about 5 minutes each, addressing the issues identified. Produce the docume...

The hint of the Incubation Programme 2021 was released in the 3rd edition of the "Regional Marine Observer". This edition summarises the GMES and Africa (marine) Project in west Africa's engagement with the youth interested in coastal and marine environment preservation and sustainability over the past three years.  Through the Action, more than 500 youth had the opportunity to apply for fellowships; become members of a club designed to promote the usage of open source tools; compete for Innovation Challenges and Online contests; attend relevant regional training and seminars on the application of Earth observation in the management of the marine and coastal areas, among others. The Newsletter highlights an upcoming event dubbed the "UG-GMES Incubation Programme".  The activity seeks to support the innovation of start-ups or individuals with interest in using Earth observation technologies to address coastal and marine issues in West Africa. The programme will f...

Director of Human Resources, Science and Technology Department at  the African Union Commission says that Africans have to work for themselves towards achieving sustainable development. This statement was made during a working visit to the University of Ghana on the 24th of February 2020. The Director, together with a team from the Management Unit of the GMES and Africa Programme, paid a courtesy call to the Provost of the College of Basic Applied Science, Professor Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu. The use of science and technology, and Earth observation tools by academia to attain sustainable development were discussed among other subjects.  During the three-day working visit, the visiting team had series of meetings with key national and regional stakeholders based in the country. At the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre Zone F, the Director of the Centre, Commander Yussif Benning, received the delegation led by Dr. Ouedraego. The Centre was established by the ECOWAS with its ...

  Observation des baleines sur la côte béninoise Les 24 et 25 septembre 2020, s'est tenue au large de la côte béninoise, une visite en mer. Cette initiative émane de l'Institut de Recherche Halieutique et océanologique du Bénin (IRHOB), avec l'appui du programme "GMES et l'Afrique". L'objectif principal de cette visite, est d'observer les baleines en mer. Cette activité va au profit des membres du club "GMES et Afrique Bénin" dont All For Science ONG, un creuset de jeunes journalistes scientifiques, est membre. Elle a d’ailleurs connue la participation des étudiants et de quelques cadres de l’IRHOB. « L'observation de la Terre n'est pas nécessairement l'observation de la terre ferme, l'observation de la mer, des plants d'eau, fait partie aussi de l'observation de la terre », explique Docteur Zacharie Sohou, Océanographe, Directeur de l'Institut de Recherche Halieutique, Océanologique du Bénin. Selon lui, «c'est...

Marine Scientist and Director of the University of Ghana’s Marine Resources Centre, Prof George Wiafe has decried losses being made in the maritime domain business due to illegal activities despite the sector’s huge potentials. Prof Wiafe, who is also the Project Manager of the University of Ghana’s consortium of the GMES-AFRICA programme, has called for more awareness creation on happenings surrounding the maritime domain across Africa to get more young people involved and interested in the marine sector. Prof George Wiafe,  GMES (Marine) in West Africa  Project Manager, University of Ghana He made this known during a weblive, organized on September 16, 2020 by GMES and Africa and Mercator Ocean International, via the website and the RS of La Tribune Afrique. The online meeting which had various stakeholders in the marine sector across Africa, focused on the opportunities and potentials that mobile maritime applications based on EO data can represent for African entrepreneur...