ANNEX V

PROPOSAL FOR A GLOBAL COASTAL MONITORING SYSTEM


 

Preamble

This background paper and its four attachments describe an attempt in 1990-1991, long before the Coastal Workshop in Miami in February 1997, by the IOC-UNEP-WMO community, to develop a global coastal monitoring system as part of GOOS. The attachments are provided to help to ensure continuity in the development of Coastal GOOS. Although the proposals described in the attachments are 'old', much of what they suggest is still valid and may be useful in developing the design for Coastal GOOS implementation and pilot projects.

Attachments

  1. IOC, 1990, Proposal on Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal and Near-Shore Phenomena related to Climate Change. Annex III to UNEP-IOC-WMO Meeting of Experts on Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal and Near-Shore Phenomena Related to Climate Change, Paris, December 10-14, 1990, UNEP-IOC-WMO/GCNSMS-I/3, 17pp.
  2. IOC, 1990, A Description and Physical oceanographic rational for IOC/WMO/UNEP Long-term Monitoring System for Coastal and Near-Shore Areas. Information Document UNEP-IOC- WMO/GCNSMS-I/Inf.2, 17pp (presented at UNEP-IOC-WMO Meeting of Experts on Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal and Near-Shore Phenomena Related to Climate Change, Paris, December 10-14, 1990).
  3. IOC, 1991, Action Plan for the Implementation of Pilot Phase Activities of the Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal and near-Shore Phenomena related to Climate Change. Annex III to UNEP- IOC-WMO-IUCN Meeting of Experts on a Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal and Near- Shore Phenomena Related to Climate Change, Pilot Projects on Mangroves and Coral Reefs, Monaco, December 9-13, 1991, UNEP-IOC-WMO-IUCN/GCNSMS-II/3, 19pp.
  4. IOC, 1993, Proposed Pilot Programme for a Coastal Circulation Component of the Global Ocean Observing System. Tabled at First session of I-GOOS, Paris, February 1993 (IOC/GOOS-I/Inf.3, 14pp).

Historical Background Summary

The History, below, helps to explain why it took so long to develop the coastal dimension of GOOS. Clearly there was a lot of initial enthusiasm for developing Coastal GOOS, which it was thought could initially be implemented through six pilot projects on:

However, at that time (1990-1991) the programme was ambitious and there was not enough budget or staff to support all of it. Of the six pilot projects, the sea-level one has been partially dealt with by GLOSS, but continues in the storm surge proposal that is part of the background papers for the Curitiba meeting; the coastal circulation one has been partly dealt with by WESTPAC; the carbon one has disappeared; the plankton one takes the form of IOC's investment in the Continuous Plankton Recorder programme, and is under consideration by the LMR Panel; the coral reef one has come to fruition in the form of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network; and the mangrove one is being handled elsewhere (ie outside IOC and not in GOOS).

The historical analysis also indicates that the initial Coastal group was not preserved when the I- GOOS and J-GOOS committee structure for GOOS was developed in 1992-93, which meant that the key players left the scene. The impetus was lost until an ad hoc Coastal Panel was formed by J-GOOS in April 1995, the delay reflecting inadequacies in the communication between I-GOOS (which had recommended in 1993 that such a panel be formed, J-GOOS, which should have acted on the request, and the GOOS Support Office, which should have provided J-GOOS with the appropriate documentation and forced the issue). The work of the ad hoc Coastal Panel culminated in the Miami Workshop in February 1997, following which staff and financial resources were finally found to meet the requirements of an established Coastal Panel.

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History of Development of Coastal GOOS Prior to Miami Coastal Workshop

Following an initial proposal made by UNEP in October 1989, the Secretariats of IOC, UNEP and WMO, decided it would be necessary to develop a long-term global monitoring system for coastal and near- shore zone observations, including physical and biological parameters, to provide data on global changes with special reference to those associated with or attributable to the impacts of suspected climate change.

In March 1990, the 23rd IOC Executive Council approved the preparation that the Secretariats proposed of a Master Plan for a Global Coastal Zone Observing System, and required that it be developed in close harmony with the other activities being undertaken by the IOC Technical Committee on Ocean Processes and Climate (C/OPC) to develop long term systematic ocean observations for monitoring and predicting environmental changes, including the formulation by the OOSDP (Ocean Observing System Development Panel) of the conceptual design of an operational observing system for monitoring physical and other properties that determine the ocean circulation, the response of the ocean to climate change and the initial-value inputs for climate predictions. The Master Plan was to be developed by two consultants, one for physical and one for biological parameters and to be presented by July 1990 (ref. = IOC/EC- XXIII/8 Annex 1 addendum). The consultants were expected to make a large number of country visits to consult different coastal establishments in the process of drawing up the plan.

In July 1990, the Consultants presented to the Secretariats of IOC, UNEP and WMO the Framework Master Plan for a Global Coastal Monitoring System. This document was considered to be the first draft of a proposal for a Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal and Near-Shore Phenomen Related to Climate Change (GCNSMS). I t was reviewed and revised at an inter-Secretariat meeting in Geneva in July 1990, and the revised version was circulated for review to a number of scientists and agencies.

A UNEP-IOC-WMO Group of Experts was formed to review the proposal for the GCNSMS, and met in December 1990. Among other things it aimed to consider the establishment of a programme of coastal zone research and monitoring in order to identify effects of climate changes on the coast and coastal ecosystems, and to assess the vulnerability of various natural and managed ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves and coastal agriculture. The meeting led to a further revision of the proposal, presented as Annex III to the report of the meeting (UNEP-IOC-WMO/GCNSMS-I/3), attached here as Attachment A. One of the background documents to Annex III (UNEP-IOC-WMO/GCNSMS-I/Inf.2) describes a physical oceanographic monitoring component of a GCNSMS (Attachment B).

The proposal recommended the adoption of pilot studies on:

The meeting recommended that the proposal be brought to the attention of the governing bodies of the three sponsors with a request that they endorse the concept and objectives and advise on its implementation.

The proposal was considered and endorsed by the 4th session of C/OPC in February 1991, which recommended that the GCNSMS should be developed in conjunction with the development of GOOS, that coastal ocean monitoring should be planned and developed within the framework of GOOS, and that the Secretary of IOC should initiate the proposed pilot projects as appropriate.

In March 1991, the 16th IOC Assembly considered reports on both GOOS and the proposed GCNSMS. The Assembly decided (Resolution XVI-8) to undertake development of a Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), built initially on esisting systems and operated by Member States for the needs and benefits of each. GOOS was seen as including as "modules" or "subsystems" of the overall system elements such as:

  1. climate observations,
  2. marine pollution monitoring,
  3. coastal zone monitoring, and
  4. regional programmes.

The Assembly expressed strong support for the proposed GCNSMS, endorsed its concept and objectives and adopted the recommendation of the C/OPC to implement the proposed pilot studies, recommending the implementation of these through IOC regional bodies and task teams (Resolution XVI- 10) as a contribution to GOOS.

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In December 1991, an ad hoc Expert Group chaired by Geoff Holland formulated a Draft GOOS Development Plan (IOC/EC-XXV/8 Annex 1), which described the GOOS objectives and basic concept, and the five GOOS modules, including:

The IOC-UNEP-WMO Expert Group on a GCNSMS also met in December 1991, to consider how to take forward two of the six recommended pilot studies, namely those on coral reefs and mangroves. By this time the sponsoring group had been expanded to include the IUCN (World Conservation Union). An Action Plan for the implementation of pilot phase activities of the coastal system that was presented in Annex III of the report of the meeting (UNEP-IOC-WMO-IUCN/GCNSMS-II/3) covers these two pilot study areas (see Attachment C). The meeting recommended that the governing bodies be requested to support the development of the pilot phases, in particular these two.

The final, 5th session of the C/OPC, in March 1992, recommended to the 25th IOC Executive Council that IOC:

  1. establish a new IOC Committee to serve as the intergovernmental forum for promoting GOOS (I- GOOS),
  2. establish a Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel to advise that committee (J-GOOS) (Recommendation OPC-V.4), and
  3. include the GCNSMS pilot activities within the framework of the GOOS module on coastal zone management.

The C/OPC noted that if there were insufficient resources to implement all the coastal pilot studies simultaneously, their implementation should be phased in accordance with the interests of the Member States. They further invited GLOSS to take on the implementation of the sea level pilot activity.

Later in March 1992, the 25th IOC Executive Council recognised that GOOS would be coastal as well as global and multidisciplinary in nature, endorsed the recommendations of the C/OPC, and specified that the group of experts on GLOSS should be a subsidiary body of the new Committee (I-GOOS), thereby incorporating sea-level measurements in GOOS. The Executive Council endorsed the proposals of the Group of Experts on the GCNSMS for six pilot phase activities and agreed with the recommendation to proceed first with the coral reef and mangrove activities. In addition the EC listed as an initial task for J- GOOS: to "consider the establishment of a scientific and technical subgroup to define the rationale, criteria, scope and initial elements of the coastal module of GOOS" (Resolution EX-XXV-3, Annex 2).

To take forward the development of the sealevel pilot activity, an ad hoc Meeting of Experts on the IOC-UNEP-WMO Pilot Activity on Sea-Level Change and Associated Coastal Impacts was held in Paris in October 1992 (see report in Annex VIII of the Report of the 3rd session of GLOSS). A draft action plan for the sea-level activity was presented by a consultant (IOC/INF-908), and followed up at a UNEP-IOC Workshop on Impacts of Sea Level Rise, in November 1992 and by the third session of the IOC Regional Committee for the western Indian Ocean in December 1992. It was agreed that the activity should focus on the coastal zones in the Indian Ocean, and that the project should be adopted by GLOSS. Pilot phase activities for 1993-96 included:

  1. storm surges in the Bay of Bengal;
  2. sea-level variability in the Maldives Archipelago and adjacent areas;
  3. sea-level variations and their impact on coastal erosion in the western Indian Ocean.

To take forward the development of the coastal circulation pilot activity a consultant was requested in 1992 to develop a proposal for a Pilot Programme for a Coastal Circulation Component of the Global Ocean Observing System (Attachment D) (ref: IOC/GOOS-I/Inf.3). The proposal focussed on a pilot activity in the western Pacific region, focussing on the East China Sea, and was submitted to the second session of the IOC Subcommission forWESTPAC (January 1993). WESTPAC officers were asked to take action on the activity following I-GOOS-I in February 1993. A WESTPAC programme on Continental Shelf Circulation was created and plans were made for (i) a training workshop on numerical modelling, and (ii) a joint China-Philippines cruise in the Sulu Sea.

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The first I-GOOS meeting took place on 16-19 February 1993, where progress with the six pilot activities for the GCNSMS was reviewed:

  1. sea-level change and coastal flooding: being taken forward by GLOSS (see report above for October 1992).
  2. coastal circulation: being taken forward by WESTPAC (see above paragraph).
  3. assessment of organic carbon accumulation in sediments: no plans were prepared due to uncertainty about (i) the methodology for organic carbon analyses, (ii) the selection of sites, and (iii) limited resources.
  4. changes in plankton community structure: a draft plan for monitoring plankton community structure by Continuous Plankton Recorder had been developed by a consultant (IOC/GOOS-I.Inf.2); this was now considered to be the province of the LMR Panel.
  5. benthic communities: coral reef ecosystems: an action plan had been prepared, and the UNEP-IOC Global Task Team on the Implications of Climate Change on Coral Reefs had agreed to act as an expert advisory body for this project.
  6. terrestrial vegetation: mangrove communities: an action plan had been prepared, and the UNEP- UNESCO Task Team on the Impact of Expected Climatic Change on Mangroves had agreed to advise on the design of this project.

I-GOOS-I (Feb. 1993) also agreed that:

  1. a Coastal Panel should be established,
  2. high priority should be assigned to the development of the GOOS Coastal Module,
  3. J-GOOS be invited to review the pilot activities and provide advice on their implementation.

The IOC Assembly in February-March 1993 recieved reports on the GCNSMS pilot activities. It agreed that these pilot activities were important (while noting that sufficient funds had not been designated for their implementation), and that a Coastal Panel should be established.

The first planning session of I-GOOS, in April 1994, recommended that an ad hoc panel be established for the coastal module, to prepare an outline strategic plan.

Unfortunately, no documentation on the work of the Group of Experts on the GCNSMS or on progress with the six pilot activities was supplied by the GOOS Support Office to the first meeting of J-GOOS (May 1994), which meant that the efforts of the Group of Experts on the GCNSMS were put aside and continuity was lost. J-GOOS-1 asked a group of its members to draft a proposal for an ad hoc J-GOOS group on the scientific components of a coastal zone module for further consideration at J-GOOS-II (in 1995).

At the fourth session of GLOSS, in January-February 1995, a report was given on the status of the pilot monitoring activity on sealevel changes and associated coastal impacts in the Indian Ocean, the objectives of which were:

  1. improve understanding of the processes that control sea level variability at sites where sea-level is monitored in the Indian Ocean;
  2. enhance capabilities of countries of the Indian Ocean to monitor and analyze sea level data.

The project had set up a network of Cells for Monitoring and Analysis of Sea-level (CMAS) in eight countries. CMAS scientists had met at a workshop in January 1994, where it had been decided that enhancing the expertise available was a major priority. Training to meet this requirement was planned for late 1995.

Because there had been no significant response by J-GOOS to I-GOOS's call for creation of a Coastal Panel, in April 1995 the I-GOOS strategy subcommittee recommended that J-GOOS establish a coastal module panel as a matter of priority. At the J-GOOS-II meeting late in April 1995 it was decided to establish an ad hoc panel to define the scientific and technical components of the GOOS Coastal Module. The ad hoc panel was asked to prepare a first draft response to this call, and to hold a workshop before March 1997. J-GOOS was informed about the collection of pilot activities established within the framework of the UNEP-IOC-WMO GCNSMS, but only four activities were listed (reefs, mangroves, sealevel and plankton). The report of J-GOOS-II shows that at that time the six pilot activities were not being incorporated into the GOOS design.

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At the second session of I-GOOS (I-GOOS-2; June 1995) progress with the proposed GCNSMS pilot activities was reviewed:

  1. Pilot Activity on Sea-level Changes and Associated Coastal Impacts in the Indian Ocean: GLOSS activity.
  2. Pilot Activity on Coastal Circulation: WESTPAC activity.
  3. Pilot Activity on Organic Carbon Accumulation: Defunct.
  4. Pilot Activity on Monitoring Plankton Community Structure: Considered to be the responsibility of the LMR-GOOS Panel, with support provided by the IOC for the implementation of the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey being carried out by the Sir Alastair Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS).
  5. Pilot Activity on Monitoring Coral Reef Ecosystems: The progress and future development of this activity had been considered by the IOC-IUCN-LOICZ Expert Meeting on Coral Reef Monitoring, Research and Management, in Bermuda in October 1994. The expert meeting recommended development of a Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) as part of the GOOS Coastal Module.
  6. Pilot Activity on Monitoring Mangrove Communities: I-GOOS-II (June 1995) noted that a UNEP- UNESCP Task Team on the Impact of Expected Change on Mangroves, had prepared under the "Assessment and Monitoring of Climate Change Impacts on Mangrove Ecosystems" published by UNEP in 1994, and had invited the J-GOOS Coastal Panel to advise on implementation of this pilot activity.

Subsequently, at the 18th IOC Assembly, in June 1995, there was no significant discussion on the coastal module of GOOS, or of the six pilot activities, apart from recognition that the GCRMN had the potential to be a significant component of the GOOS Coastal module (as acknowledged by I-GOOS-II). At the Assembly the IOC decided to support the establishment of the GCRMN and the appointment of a Coordinator. In addition, the IOC formally began involvement in coastal zone activities, emphasizing that these represent a new development for IOC as well as a major trend in the development of future IOC activities. However, discussions of Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) were not linked to coastal GOOS.

In February - March, 1996, WESTPAC's third session noted that the coastal circulation pilot activities were not being pursued separately, but were effectively subsumed within the NEAR-GOOS pilot project, and the Gulf of Thailand Project.

At J-GOOS-III (April 1996), progress in developing a Coastal Workshop was described, and a strawman proposal for Coastal GOOS was presented. A key, over-arching objective was seen as providing a basis in models and observations for extended predictability in the coastal environment. J-GOOS-III did not discuss the six pilot activities.

The ad hoc J-GOOS coastal panel organised a coastal module planning workshop which took place in Miami in February 1997; the report was subsequently published.

J-GOOS-IV, which met in April 1997, discussed the report of the Coastal Workshop and recommended formation of a Coastal Panel (as opposed to an ad hoc group), which was duly endorsed by I-GOOS-III in June 1997; the new Panel held its first meeting in April-March 1998. It did not consider the list of six pilot activities, but did consider progress with reefs and mangroves.

The latest initiatives under the heading of pilot activities proposed by the Expert Group on the GCNSMS appear to be as follows:

  1. Sea-Level: a the storm surge proposal has been developed by the IOC and WMO for presentation to the 1998 Executive Council, and tabled for discussion at the Curitiba meeting of C- GOOS.
  2. Plankton: incorporation of the CPR into LMR-GOOS is still under consideration; meanwhile, IOC continues to part-fund the SAHFOS CPR programme.
  3. Reefs: The GCRMN was duly set up, and its strategic plan was published in 1997. A resumee of activity is given in the Miami Coastal Workshop report. Essentially the project is moving along under the aegis of the GCRMN.
  4. Mangroves: No further action is recorded by I-GOOS or J-GOOS, apart from a resumee of activity. C-GOOS may wish to consider how this topic should be taken forward.
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