Ocean
Title: Africa Regional Centres of Excellence - ArcX: Ocean Component.
The OPERA project (Ocean Prediction Enhancement in Regions of Africa) represents the ArcX Ocean component.
Main Objective: To improve ocean resources sustainability and human welfare by strengthening digital and scientific capacities in ocean monitoring and forecasting in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Specific Objectives:
- Build cooperation and foster a coordinated and dynamic African ocean prediction community to enhance regional leadership and global collaboration in ocean monitoring and forecasting
- Strengthen African capacities in ocean monitoring and forecasting at national, regional, and pan-African levels, improving access and use of digital ocean resources
- Strengthen ocean regional and coastal forecasting systems for Essential Ocean Variables (currents, sea height, temperature, salinity, fish abundance, etc.)
- Develop fit-for-purpose ocean data-driven applications and services to support sustainable blue economies, protect coastal communities and safeguard marine ecosystems
- Develop an African Digital Twin Ocean/ocean Knowledge Hub framework to enhance sharing, accessibility, and use of digital ocean resources for informed decision-making and continued innovation
- Strengthen the uptake and long-term impact of the project’s results by engaging stakeholders and users through co-design, targeted activities and knowledge tools, while fostering private sector participation and stronger links with policy.
Starting Year: 2025
Implementation Duration: 60 months
Areas of Impact:
- Support policy and foster long-term commitment to help achieve goals of key ocean related priorities in African and European frameworks and increase long-term support for ocean monitoring and forecasting
- Cooperation and community building to expand ocean prediction community in Africa, fostering cooperation within sub-Saharan Africa and with the global community
- New services and applications to support disaster risk reduction and response, blue economy and marine conservation efforts
- Capacity sharing knowledge & technology transfer
- Strengthened capabilities enhance ocean monitoring and forecasting capacities
- Stronger science policy pathways and engagement of the private sector.
Target Groups: African governments and decision-makers, Regional Centres of Excellence and scientific institutions, Local and regional authorities involved in coastal management and risk reduction, Blue economy stakeholders (fishing, aquaculture, maritime transport, offshore energy, etc.), Civil society (coastal communities, NGOs, citizen scientists).
ArcX Partners: See ArcX Partners card and ArcX Partnership Map.
Component Coordinator: Mercator Ocean International, as coordinator of the OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre (Click here to register).
Leading Regional Centre of Excellence (RCoE): Mercator Ocean International
Scientific and Technical Support: Capacity Development – UNESCO Chair of Mathematical Physics and Applications CIPMA), Gulf of Guinea Ocean Sciences Summer School (GGOSSS), University of Abomey Calavi
