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GRID-Arendal has provided the global seafloor geomorphic
habitat map and additional analysis of seamounts, canyons
and marine minerals to the Pacific Ocean Ecosystem
Analysis (PACIOCEA) project.31 This project is exploring
marine spatial planning in the island nations of the south-
western Pacific and is jointly run by the French Marine
Protected Areas Agency32 and coordinated by the Secretariat
of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).33
Staff from GRID-Arendal attended a PACIOCEA project
workshop in August 2014 in Noumea to present this
analysis and engage with other project partners in exploring
spatial issues in the wider Pacific Region.
5D+ Sustainable Seas – Management of Human
Impacts work funded from other (non-MFA) sources
PacGeo34 is a web-based interactive mapping and decision
support system that provides access to integrated marine
information in the Pacific Region. Currently 185 separate
geospatial data layers and associated information
have been uploaded into PacGeo, including maritime
boundaries, fisheries, regulatory, environment, offshore
minerals and aerial photographs. The data have been
sourced from the SOPAC marine data catalogue but
there is the facility to include country specific data. At
the last Pacific Maritime Boundaries workshop (July
2014, Sydney, Australia) GRID-Arendal and partners
provided training for technical personnel from Fiji, the
Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati to develop their own
instances of Geonode (the open source platform that
supports PacGeo) and are currently uploading country
data that will be accessible via PacGeo.35 Since the training,
Fiji has established FijiGeo, the Fiji Geospatial Data
Services Portal, administered by the Ministry of Lands
Appreciation of the work on seafloor
geomorphology
Extract from an e-mail received from J.M.Herndon, San
Diego, California, 10 February 2014:
“I just downloaded the proof copy of your paper
“Geomorphology of the Oceans”. You and your colleagues
have indeed done a magnificent and thorough job. These days
few understand the importance of thorough work of global
perspective. This work will benefit many, including me.”
SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME MC
31.
polynesia-and-new-caledonia-to-enhance-ocean-management
32. Agence des aires marines protégées
33.
34.
35. PacGeo was engineered to be sustainable, using open source software
and cloud storage