Transcript Challenges to International Data Sharing: the Role of UNESCO Gretchen Kalonji Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences • Brief overview of UNESCO and its.

Challenges to International Data Sharing:
the Role of UNESCO
Gretchen Kalonji
Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences
• Brief overview of UNESCO and its Natural Sciences Sector
• Examples of current activities
• Ongoing challenges
• New opportunities and prospects for the future?
Natural Sciences: Our Strategic Advantages
• Intersectoral nature of our mandate: Education, Science, Culture
• Strong existing efforts, e.g. in ocean and fresh water sciences (IOC
and IHP); ecological sciences (MAB); geological sciences (IGSP); basic
sciences (IBSP); science policy; indigenous knowledge
• An incredible network of UNESCO-related institutions, including the
International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the Academy of
Science for the Developing World (TWAS), (both in Trieste), the IHE, in
Delft, WWAP, and 22+ “category 2” centers around the world.
• Competent, energetic and creative field offices - the main science
bureaus are in Cairo, Jakarta, Montevideo, Nairobi and Venice, but we
also have science officers in 53 countries
• 300+ UNESCO Chairs around the world with science research foci
Natural Sciences: Our Strengths, 2
• Network of sites, e.g. MAB sites, World Heritage, geoparks
• Network of close partners:, e.g. CERN, ICSU, IUPAC…..
• Relationships with member states: permanent delegations at UNESCO,
national commission, national committees for various programs, etc.,
• Our extensive family and credibility; We have a very broad convening
power in science, as a neutral base for “networks of networks”
Natural Sciences: Challenges
• Attaining more strategic focus: Including promoting connections
between units in natural sciences, with social science, and with other
sectors
• More effective relations between headquarters and field offices
• Cohesion with our Category 1 and 2 centres and UNESCO chairs – an
incredible resource
• Working more effectively with other UN agencies
• Building stronger partnerships with the outside world, esp. the private
sector
• Enhancing visibility of UNESCO
Natural Sciences: Meta-goals
• Focus on scientific collaborations that require large-scale
multinational collaborations, e.g. IOC, IHP, etc.
• Focus on areas where we can realize the broader goal of “science
for peace”, e.g. effort in transboundary aquifers, SESAME, etc.
• Embrace our responsibility to assist member states in meeting their
own goals for strengthening STI ecosystems in service to society,
with foci on:
a. Poverty eradication
b. Low-cost, effective and accessible solutions to pressing social
challenges, e.g. access to clean water, energy, health care, etc.
Our Concept of STI and Development
Culture of Science
Based in the countries’
potential to solve global
issues;
ETHICS
Local knowledge and
innovation capacities;
Based on the local
realities and addressing
the common good;
Inclusive
People’s
centered
EMPOWERMENT
BSP1: Strengthening STI Ecosystems
• MLA 1: Promoting STI policies and access to knowledge
• MLA 2: Building capacities in basic sciences and engineering including
through strengthening higher education systems
• MLA 3: Mobilizing broad-based societal participation in STI
BSP2: Mobilizing Science for Sustainability
• MLA 4: Managing and protecting oceans and coastal zones (IOC)
• MLA 5: Fresh water systems: stress and societal response (IHP)
• MLA 6: Ecological and earth sciences: (MAB and IGSP)
• MLA 7: Natural disaster risk reduction and mitigation
Strengthening Higher Education Systems
• Enhancing research capacity
• Networked regional centers of excellence
• Focus on complex challenges, e.g. water, energy and environment
• Curricular transformation in science and engineering
• Moving to more progressive pedagogies – student-centered, team-based
interdisciplinary projects
• Creation of high-quality, accessible, resources (e.g. with Nature)
• Developing multi-university partnership models
• Creation of alliances of universities working on common objectives
• Promoting student leadership
• Multinational student “design for sustainability” contests
• Creation of student societies to drive the agenda
Example of UNESCO data access activities: Water
• UNESCO-IHP GRAPHIC project (Groundwater Resources
under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change) –
goal is advancing research on climate change impacts on
groundwater resources and facilitating cooperation between
scientists in the fields of hydrogeology and climatology
through the collection and sharing of data, the joint analysis
of information and the joint reporting of results
• GRAPHIC has been working closely together with NASA and
the University of Irvine, California (UCI) in the application of
GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite
data for assessing changes in groundwater storage
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Results – Phase I
Identification of 68
transboundary aquifers
UNESCO/OAS (2007) Sistemas acuiferos transfronterizos en las
Américas. Evaluación Preliminar, Programa UNESCO/OEA ISARM
América, Serie ISARM Américas N°1, Montevideo/Washington D.C.,
UNESCO-IHP/OAS.
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UNESCO/IGRAC
International Hydrological Programme VII Phase (2008-2013)
IHP VI Initiatives
THEME I:
Adapting to the impacts of global
changes on river basins and aquifer
systems
THEME II:
Cross-cutting
Programmes
FRIEND/HELP
Strengthening Water Governance for
Sustainability
THEME III:
Ecohydrology for Sustainability
THEME IV:
Water and Life Support Systems
THEME V:
Hydrological
Research
Water Education for Sustainable
Development
Education,
Transfer of knowledge, Capacity building
PC-CP
ISI
IFI
ICHARM
G - WADI
IAHS - PUB
IHP - VII
New Initiatives
Water Centres
Water Resources
Management
The Man and Biosphere Programme: World Network of Biosphere Reserves
( 564 in 109 countries)
Data Collection in Mountain Biosphere Reserves
GLOCHAMORE Project (Global Change in Mountain
Regions)
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Science Policy and Sustainable Development
Country Support
Policy Advice
Capacity Building
International
Regional Cooperation
Regional Strategies
Harmonizing Policies
S&T Policy Forums
Geological Sciences
• Extensive work on global geologic mapping in partnership with the
Commission for the Geological Map of the World – sharing data in the form
of paper geological maps which have defined national boundaries since
1881
• Contributes to OneGeology – goal is to share the geologic data of the
world at a 1:1M scale through the OneGeology portal that allows each
geological survey to serve their own data live from their servers to the
portal
• UNESCO is an active partner in UN-SPIDER for sharing satellite data and
remote sensed products in the case of natural disasters
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Natural Sciences Sector – 28 February 2011
Oceans: IOC
• 1960: requirement for a structure to co-ordinate
international oceanographic data exchange (IODE)
• 1961: Working Group on Exchange of Oceanographic Data
established:
− the facilitating of exchange of oceanographic data, the
standardization of forms for reporting and coding data,
the encouragement of the preparation of data
catalogues, and the assistance of development of
national oceanographic data centers
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IODE data centers 1961-2010
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IODE data centers 1961-2010
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Regional Networks development
• 1989-1996: RECOSCIX-WIO
• 2000-…: ODINAFRICA
• 2005: ODINCARSA
• ODINCINDIO
• ODINECET
• 2009: ODINWESTPAC
• 2009: ODIN-PIMRIS
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Example: ODINAFRICA
• PHASED + LONG-TERM
• Phase 1: sub-regional test bed of 7 countries
• Phase 2: 20 countries: setting up data centers and
marine libraries; develop metadata and data bases; start
development of products
• Phase 3: 25 countries: construct a Pan-African coastal
observing system including a core network of tide
gauges; data products (Atlas)/ national and regional work
plans
• Phase 4: multi-sectoral data; share data (cooperation in
OceanDataPortal)
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NATURAL SCIENCES / Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
Ocean Observations and Services
The IOC’s coordination of intergovernmental cooperation has
enabled the global ocean observation systems so important to
climate and ocean research and management
• Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) coordinates
member state oceanographic platforms and resources to
provide a unified view of real-time ocean conditions,
including monitoring sea surface height and climate
variability.
• International Oceanographic Data and Information
Exchange are enabled through a worldwide serviceoriented network of data centres and management
services.
• Implementation of the ocean observing systems is guided
by joint agency technical commissions and expert groups
setting standards, best practices and coordinating
preparation and dissemination of oceanographic products
and services.
NATURAL SCIENCES / Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
Tsunami Early Warning Systems
IOC is assisting Member States in the development and coordination
of regional tsunami early warning systems together with other UN
partners
• Owned and operated by Member States
• Collect, distribute and interpret all available seismic and
sea level data for the existence and propagation of a
tsunami
• Issue timely and clear warnings for their area of operation
and exchange these data and information with other
national and international centres
• Complementary and sustained activities in tsunami hazard
risk assessment, tsunami warning training, emergency
response, and preparedness are part of the comprehensive
tsunami mitigation programs that extend the TWS’s as endto-end systems
Natural Sciences Sector – 28 February 2011
Science Education at UNESCO
• Multiple efforts underway both at secondary and university levels
• Partnership with CERN on programs for physics teachers, and on digital
library access, with a focus on Africa
• Initiative on earth sciences education in Africa, with a focus on enhancing
the participation of women
• Emerging partnership with Apple on promoting participation in Apple iTunes
University from areas currently not represented
• Focus on strengthening higher education in Africa, in partnership with the
African Union
• Emerging partnership with Nature Publishing Group on the World Library of
Science (name to be modified)
Opportunity Provided by Recent Developments
• IPBES – An Intergovernmental
Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services
• UNESCO likely to be chosen
as one of the Platform’s cohosts
• IPBES will not undertake
research but assess current
knowledge and promote
further assessments
• A unique opportunity for
promoting the equitable
and transparent access to
relevant, salient, timely,
accurate and neutral
information on biodiversity
and ecosystem services for
human well-being and
development
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Biodiversity-Specific Activities
UNESCO – an key international partner with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
UNEP, SCOPE, Diversitas, Global Environment Facility…..
UNESCO – a full partner in the process to establish an Intergovernmental Science Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) – similar to the IPCC for climate
UNESCO and the International Year of Biodiversity 2010
 Fill the gaps in scientific knowledge – science policy conference
 Cultural dimensions of biodiversity - International Conference on Cultural and Biological
Diversity, Montreal Canada, June 2010
 Raise awareness, educate and communicate on the vital importance of biodiversity: highlevel launch, travelling exhibition, biodiversity learning kit
Outcomes and Milestones – last quarter 2010
 Executive Board -185th Session – UNESCO Biodiversity Initiative - intersectoral
 Tenth Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity Nagoya, Japan,
October 2010 – strategic plan, agreement on access and benefit sharing
 UN General Assembly: Decision on IPBES and Declaration of the UN Decade of Biodiversity
(2011-2020)
Directions for the future: 3 qualitative goals
•
Strengthening capacity of member states, especially in the developing
world, to engage in and contribute to data-intensive science;
•
Providing more effective platforms for community engagement and
experience sharing, including through activities at UNESCO sites;
•
Enhancing awareness of member states in the value of freely sharing
scientific data.
Specific ideas
• Convene information meeting at UNESCO for member states re the “case for
sharing of international scientific data”
• Incorporate focus on “data intensive science” in our activities in support of
strengthening higher education, esp. in Africa
• Integrate awareness raising activities into multiple ongoing UNESCO efforts,
e.g. our collaboration with ICSU in prep for Rio + 20, our programs on
“science for parliamentarians”, our work with member states on STI policy
• Incorporate data-intensive science activities in our science-education
programs, including through our leadership role in the UN Decade for
Education for Sustainable Development
• Utilize the platform of the newly announced IPBES to launch new activities on
biodiversity data sharing, linking into our network of Biosphere Reserves.
Access and Benefit Sharing protocol particularly exciting
Conclusions
• Significant opportunity to further strengthen UNESCO’s efforts in
promoting more effective and equitable sharing of international
scientific data
• New activities can be integrated into ongoing strategic directions
• Look forward to partnerships with a wide variety of allies
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