Building a network of marine chemical pollution experts in developing countries: a summer school targeted at the transfer of scientific knowledge and capacity building

Nearly 40% of the world's population lives within 100 km of the coast. Coastal ecosystems are subject to growing anthropic pressures putting at risk many vital services for the development and well-being of populations. Monitoring these ecosystems efficiently is thus a necessity in order to evaluate and reduce marine pollution, as prioritized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 14.1). As recommended in the Global Ocean Science Report¹ and across the UN Ocean Decade initiative², it is crucial to improve the scientific knowledge through actions aiming at strengthening the capacities of regions and communities to protect the marine ecosystems.

The “Chemical monitoring of Coastal environments Summer School” was created to transfer operational skills for the protection and sustainable management of marine resources in developing countries. Since October 2022, 20 academic trainees from 12 countries (Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritania, Vietnam, Thailand and The Philippines) attended a 2-week program in Nantes (France) to gain scientific knowledge and practical guidelines in sampling, marine chemical data analysis and interpretation for marine coastal chemical monitoring.   

This action, co-funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), addresses two main goals: 1) transferring educational program to academic staff including targeted scientific knowledge and standardized analytical protocols and 2) creating a worldwide mentored network of experts able to monitor the Ocean pollution in areas where chemical data is scarce. Topics such as monitoring network design, sampling strategy, chemical analysis (metals, organic pollutants, nutrients) or chemical risk assessment were addressed by combining scientific lectures (Biogeochemistry, Ecotoxicology, Environmental Psychology, Scientific Mediation …) and practical work from the field to the lab.

This presentation intends to share feedback experience after completion of two sessions of the summer school. This program was endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development under the framework of the Global Estuaries Monitoring Program (Program 176).

 

1. IOC-UNESCO. 2020. Global Ocean Science Report 2020 – Charting Capacity for Ocean Sustainability. K. Isensee (ed.), Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
2. UN Decade of ocean science for sustainable development 2021-2023 https://oceandecade.org/