The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is organising a webinar on EO for African marine applications. The webinar aims to increase awareness of the role of EO satellites in supporting the African Blue Economy strategy. Furthermore, it will inform and interact with stakeholders on how satellite data are pertinent to realise the African Blue Economy strategy. The organisers will consequently focus on EUMETSAT and Copernicus satellites. The webinar will also inform participants about existing EO-based marine services in Africa and share experiences.
The Africa Blue Economy Strategy was developed in 2018 following the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The strategy’s objective is to develop an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that becomes a significant contributor to continental transformation and growth. The strategy will attain this through advancing knowledge on marine and aquatic biotechnology and environmental sustainability. It will also advance understanding of the growth of the Africa-wide shipping industry, the development of sea, river and lake transport, the management of fishing activities on these aquatic spaces, and the exploitation and beneficiation of deep-sea minerals and other resources.
The African continent has 38 coastal states and several seven island states. These islands states include Small Island States (SIDS) vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events. Collectively, the African coastal and island states encompass vast ocean territories of an estimated 13 million km². Furthermore, inland water bodies and wetlands are strategically crucial to the continent and provide opportunities for fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, coastal tourism, offshore oil and gas energy mobilisation and other blue economy-related activities
Rapidly changing parameters characterise the ocean environment, consequently requiring observation via large-scale real-time observation data. Thus, EO constitutes an essential source of information for monitoring the marine environment and the ocean economy. Additionally, EO can support various applications like assessing water quality, fishing zones mapping or monitoring harmful algal blooms. In addition, Africa can leverage EO to protect marine biodiversity and manage coastal areas.
The webinar will hold on December 2, 2021, and you can register for it here.
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