Raising the SAEON flag up North

President Thabo Mbeki called for collabaration between South Africa and Canada when he visited Canada in 2003. Subsequently, during 2004, Dr Rob Adam, Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology met with his counterparts in Canada and agreed on future scientific collaboration. The SAEON visit to its Canadian counterpart EMAN was therefore in accordance with government intentions. A possible collaborative project between EMAN and SAEON could be to monitor the levels and effects of climate change between the hemispheres.

In August Johan Pauw, head of SAEON, Avinash Chunthapursat, SAEON’s information management co-ordinator and Dave Balfour, manager of the SAEON Ndlovu Node travelled to Canada to attend the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Congress in Montreal.

Prior to the congress they made use of the opportunity to link up with their Canadian counterparts involved in the long-term monitoring of the environment - the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN).
Inspecting the territory

Hosted by their EMAN colleagues and members of the local parks staff, they embarked on a three-day guided tour of the St Lawrence River and artificial canal systems to the west of Montreal . This provided an ideal opportunity for them to engage in discussions on topics of mutual professional interest as well as make a comparison between EMAN and SAEON philosophies, structures and operations. They were also introduced to NGOs working on sustainability issues in the region.

Co-ordination and continuity of support were key issues that were discussed as well as the need to provide feedback to and ensure active participation by ordinary citizens in the programmes. The SAEON delegation was alerted to the positive role that can be played by Naturewatch volunteers with an appropriate interest. This interaction enabled them to gain an understanding of how a dispersed monitoring network, particularly one employing “citizen monitors” might operate, and to gauge the potential of such activities in South Africa .
ESA Congress

Following the tour they attended the ESA congress, one of the premier ecological congresses in the world which annually attracts over 3 000 participants.

The Congress provided ample opportunity to hear experts talking on cutting edge ecological science. Topics and sessions of particular interest for the SAEON delegation were initiatives to do with Earth Observation Networks, eco-informatics, urban-ecosystem research and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA).

The SAEON delegation was extensively involved in open sessions and workshops on specialist topics. They were struck by the relative state of advancement of SAEON (conceptually but also in real terms) compared to other regions such as the USA . The congress also served to reassure them that SAEON was on a sustainable and appropriate route. The MEA presentation was substantially enhanced by the South African contribution and it was clear how in future follow-up assessments, SAEON could contribute meaningfully to the data used in the analyses.

There was ample opportunity for networking. In particular they benefited from meeting representatives from the National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) group in Santa Barbara . In addition, they met a number South Africans with whom they will be working in future. The professional relationships forged during the congress will assist in more meaningful processing of data in the future.

Dave Balfour’s overall assessment of the trip: “The refreshing of my personal insights, the networking and exposure that this gives to SAEON, as well as the personal contacts made the trip a valuable one.”

For further information on:

• the long-term monitoring of the environment in Canada , visit www.eman-rese.ca
•  the Ecological Society of America (ESA) Congress, visit www.esa.org