The SAEON ship ventures into new territory

Mbangiseni Nepfumbada is Acting Deputy Director-General: Policy and Regulation (Focusing on Water Resources Management) at the Department of Water Affairs. He has been a member of SAEON’s Advisory Board from 2003 to 2011, and Chairperson from 2009. Water is one of the societal benefit areas in which SAEON has made a significant difference. SAEON revived the experimental catchment network at Jonkershoek after changing priorities in government and lack of funding led to the closure of most of the gauging weirs. Today the weirs continue to deliver streamflow data, building on the legacy of data collected over the preceding decades. SAEON has established eight school-based monitoring projects at 24 schools, focusing on topics ranging from weather and climate monitoring to sustainable fishing and ocean monitoring.

This year, as SAEON celebrates its 10^th anniversary, the organisation is charting new waters on this ever-changing, constantly evolving planet of ours, and rightly so.

The past ten years represents a major growth curve for SAEON, a period in which it has succeeded in putting South Africa’s long-term environmental observation, monitoring and research initiative on a firm footing, establishing nodes in all the major biomes in the country. SAEON is now positioned to innovate and navigate the space in which it operates, including contributing to national transformation imperatives.

In decades to come, it will be a crucial source of information for government’s environmental policies, making an important contribution to the quality of life of future generations who will be increasingly threatened by climate change.

SAEON’s currency – reliable data

SAEON provides comprehensive and reliable data and information about environmental change in the long term. The data generated by SAEON’s long-term monitoring and research is of great mutual interest to government, universities and business. Current environmental concerns around climate change and global change factors have opened up new questions that the data can help answer. Improved knowledge and understanding derived from the observation systems provides feedback for continuous transformation of the way South Africa tackles global change.

SAEON has been one of the driving forces behind an innovative electronic spatial database which not only serves as a platform for the data generated by SAEON and its associates, but also by the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas and a new BioEnergy Atlas for South Africa. Via its link with the South African Earth Observation System (SAEOS), it forms part of the Group on Earth Observation’s System of Systems (GEOSS), an international network with links across the globe. This system serves as a powerhouse of long-term observation data resulting from research projects all over the world, addressing the societal benefit areas of agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disaster risk reduction, ecosystems and energy management.

Faced by a changing and uncertain world, society is ever in need of this type of evidence-based information to improve our current situation and plan for future prosperity.

Building capacity in the face of global change

SAEON’s capacity building and education outreach programmes have made a difference in the lives of many of our young people in the past decade, reaching students, learners, educators and young researchers. The programmes are ultimately aimed at providing a steady stream of future environmental scientists for our country’s National System of Innovation.

A matrix of learner- and teacher-focused activities at SAEON nodes across the country makes up the outreach portfolio. These consist of school-based monitoring programmes, teacher support workshops, science camps and field trips. SAEON also regularly hosts graduates as interns. These young graduates work side-by-side with scientists and education officers at SAEON’s head office and nodes.

SAEON supports a Graduate Student Network which aims to build and promote the sustainability and academic excellence of long-term environmental research among postgraduate students in South Africa through interactions with SAEON. Some of the nodes have also trained a number of citizen scientists to assist with monitoring programmes.

Capacity building will continue to form a strong component of the SAEON network into the future.

SAEON’s value proposition

Representing one of SAEON’s key stakeholder departments, the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) on the SAEON Advisory Board, I know only too well that DWA’s ability to implement adaptation strategies and programmes is highly dependent on the level of understanding of the bio-geophysical environment and the associated socio-economic dimensions. Observation science is a key component of this, and I am acutely aware of the value that SAEON can add in terms of environmental observation, monitoring and research.

For instance, after DWA had been battling to find ways of getting long-term monitoring for research back on track, SAEON entered the picture to work with DWA to take over some of the stations that had been operated by the CSIR for many years, one of these being Jonkershoek. SAEON has also entered into discussions with the Water Research Commission to look into housing their research data.

SAEON’s observation platforms and data management systems are ready to be implemented as national research platforms by the network’s partners, research students and international collaborators. SAEON can be of immense value to the private sector in monitoring crucial issues such as requirements for river health monitoring. It is critical that SAEON should be primed to become the “glue” that binds the long-term research anchored in key line departments such as DWA, Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), with strong support from the research community and the private sector.

New directions bring new challenges

Long-term monitoring is neither a quick nor easy process. Decision-makers want to see things happen in the shortest possible time, so it becomes critical for SAEON to sell itself well. As SAEON leaves its development phase behind and moves towards anchoring, there will have to be a lot more engagement aimed at raising visibility of the potential coordinating and leadership role of the network, generating interest and bringing in funding.

SAEON’s core funding base has to be broadened beyond funding by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) only. The absence of investment from other departments is recognised as a challenge. The strategy to succeed would involve obtaining the buy-in of officials at operational level, so that value-added collaborative opportunities are identified and promoted as key areas of future investment.

For this reason, like my colleagues on the SAEON Advisory Board, I believe the funding and resourcing must not only be maintained but also increased to a level where more products are generated in support of various programmes in the country that aim to better the lives of our people. The infrastructure established at the nodes should be leveraged to full capacity, to create sustainable platforms for observation, research and training, and to build the level of knowledge about our complex bio-geophysical systems.

Dismantling old structures

When SAEON was founded, it received strategic direction and advice from two formal advisory structures - a technical steering committee and an advisory board. The technical steering committee was abolished a year ago as it had become redundant. The SAEON Advisory Board is about to be replaced by an advisory council to steer the organisation through its next phase and to reflect the new vision for SAEON. This must be seen as an opportunity to continue refinement of the operating set-up that will strengthen SAEON, and must be supported by strengthening the national coordination office.

In conclusion

On behalf of the SAEON Advisory Board I would like to thank the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and its implementing agency, the National Research Foundation (NRF) for supporting a vision that takes environmental observation and long-term ecological research to altogether another level.

Special thanks to the staff of SAEON who have been unwavering in their support of the Advisory Board even in times when resources were limited.