By Hellen J. Kizenga, Moses M. Mapombe
The OceanObserve-Tz Initiative has been officially launched by the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). The launch event was held at the IMS headquarters at Buyu Campus, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Key stakeholders including government institutions, research and academic institutes, non-governmental organizations, coastal communities participated in the launching of the 1st of its kind initiative on ocean and coastal observations along the Tanzanian coast.
The OceanObserve-Tz Initiative aims at enhancing ocean and coastal observations along the Tanzanian coastline through the deployment of cost-effective ocean observing systems. These systems will generate real-time, reliable, continuous, and locally relevant oceanographic and environmental data to support sustainable coastal management, climate resilience, marine resource conservation, and informed decision-making.
The initiative actively engages coastal communities in data collection and monitoring activities, thereby strengthening local capacity, promoting stewardship of marine resources, and ensuring long-term sustainability of the observing systems.
Currently, in collaboration with the ongoing ENCORE-TZ and SIDA projects, and with local fishers, the initiative has installed a total of 30 temperature–depth sensors on local fishing vessels, generating real-time subsurface temperature profiles along the coast of Tanzania.
Additionally, the initiative has established ocean and weather stations in Mafia and Unguja Islands. These stations monitor sea level changes as well as weather conditions such as air temperature, humidity and pressure.
The launch of this initiative marks a key milestone in democratizing ocean observations along the Tanzanian coast and across the wider Western Indian Ocean region, directly addressing the critical gap in oceanographic data.
The initiative is led by IMS, in collaboration with partners including the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Fishing Vessel Observing Network (FVON), Ocean Data Network (ODN), Partnership for the Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO).
