The First Webinar on the Effects of Climate Change on the Indian Ocean Marine Environment was the inaugural event of a workshop series designed to address the significant challenges of understanding and predicting climate change impacts. Held virtually on 10 May 2021, the webinar’s primary purpose was to share knowledge, raise awareness, and present the latest scientific findings on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the Indian Ocean.
Key objectives included bringing together scientists and policymakers to discuss the impacts of global warming and foster regional cooperation on related environmental policies.
The event was organized by the IORA Regional Centre for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT) and the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAS). It was held in cooperation with international partners including IOC-UNESCO, the Regional Education and Research Centre on Oceanography for West Asia (RCOWA), and GIZ. Participation was exceptionally robust, with more than 150 registered attendees from 16 countries, including Member States such as Australia, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, and South Africa.
The program consisted of seven technical sessions addressing critical regional issues. Key activities included discussions on ocean variability modelling, tropical cyclone sinuosity in the Arabian Sea, and the influence of anthropogenic activities on biogeochemical processes in littoral waters. Participants examined advances in climate predictions on sub-seasonal to decadal timescales and the necessity of incorporating indigenous knowledge into scientific outreach.
Main outcomes included recommendations to develop regional monitoring networks, enhance data sharing, and establish robust Early Warning Systems to mitigate the impacts of extreme events like meteotsunamis. The webinar emphasized training a new generation of scientists and promoting open knowledge sharing. This initiative is highly relevant to IORA as climate change is a cross-cutting issue affecting all six priority areas, contributing directly to regional capacity building in Science and Technology and the Blue Economy.
