Int’l Training Centre for Operational Oceanography in Hyderabad

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New Delhi, December 15,
2017: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday approved
an agreement with UNESCO for establishment of an International Training Centre
for Operational Oceanography in Hyderabad.
The proposed centre will
be a Category-2 Centre (C2C) of UNESCO.
The purpose of this agreement
is to establish a training centre towards development of capacity for the
countries on the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR), African countries bordering the Indian
and Atlantic Oceans, small island countries under the framework of UNESCO. The
operational oceanography is an activity of conducting systematic oceanographic
studies towards providing information services to various sectors viz.
fisherman, disaster management, shipping, ports, coastal states, navy, coast
guard, environment, offshore industries for conducting their day-to- day operations.
The Centre will provide
assistance in areas of capacity building and training, knowledge sharing and
exchange of information, and hence could represent a valuable resource for
UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanography Commission (IOC) by enhancing the
impact and visibility of UNESCO’s action.
The establishment of
UNESCO Category-2 Centre will provide an opportunity for India to emerge as a
leading country in the Indian Ocean. This will also help India to forge
cooperation and improve engagement among the counties of the Indian Ocean,
including South Asian and African states bordering the Indian Ocean. The
establishment of the centre would respond to the worldwide increasing need to
build technical and management capacity to address marine and coastal
sustainability issues and prepare the region for and react efficiently to
marine natural hazards. The Centre could contribute to achieving Sustainable
Development Goal-14 (SDG 14) related to building marine scientific research
capacity in geographical area of the Centre responsibility which will also
fulfill the commitments to support Small Island Developing States, Least
Developed Countries.
This C2C is intended to
improve skill of students and other participants which will increase the
employment opportunities within and outside India. The establishment of C2C is
also expected to increase ancillary development leading to employment
generation in India. The centre is currently operational with the
state-of-the-art facilities available at Indian Centre for Ocean Information
Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad.
So far, over 681
scientists, including 576 from India and 105 from 34 other countries have been
trained at this centre in various aspects of operational oceanography. The
other infrastructure facilities like building and training hostel are being
established. It is also envisaged to invite world class (acuities and trainees
from around the world and work out a curriculum for long duration courses (of
3-9 months).

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