Kenya launches online marine information portal

The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI) has launched an online information sharing portal to improve management and protection of marine life and environment in the coastal region.

Dubbed the Kenya Coastal and Marine Clearinghouse and Information Sharing System, the portal will be used to provide data and information on the environment in the West Indian Ocean region.

The clearing house will acquire data from various sources and make it available on the internet and provide mechanisms for search by users, according its co-ordinator, Mr Harrison Ong’anda.

“We expect the tool to improve efficiency in data access, reduce duplication and increase gathering and supply of information from stakeholders,” he said.

“It will facilitate the identification of priority areas of action, raise awareness on key environmental issues and enhance the visibility of the country in its efforts to conserve marine environment,” Mr Ong’anda added.

The portal, he said, would also support environmental assessments necessary in the development of strategies and policy making concerning environmental management.

Seven institutions were involved in collection and correlation of data contained in the portal— the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA); Coast Development Authority (CDA); Fisheries Department; Kenya Forestry Research Institute, the World Conservation Society; the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and KEMFRI which coordinated the exercise.

The information system is also a mapping tool that enables users to combine data from different live map sources useful in environmental studies.

During the launch at KEMFRI offices in Mombasa, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries Development, Mr Japhet Micheni, said issues such as resource depletion affecting fisheries, mangroves and coral reef pose environmental challenges that information contained in the portal would seek to address.

“Worrying trends in habitat degradation, some of which are linked to bad practices have been observed in our coastal areas though some may be linked to climate change,” the PS said in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Patrick Osare, the director of administration in the ministry.

By launching the portal, Kenya joins Madagascar as the second country to create the information centre.

Other regional countries expected to launch their portals and among which information would be shared include Mauritius, Comoros, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique and Seychelles.

The system was developed by the secretariat of the Nairobi Convention of 2004 and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the request of governments within the western Indian Ocean region, to enable them share information on the coastal marine life. It is funded by the Norwegian government and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

According to Mr Mwangi Theuri, of Division of Early Warning and Assessment at UNEP, the clearinghouse will support the implementation and monitoring of national and regional development strategies including those of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“This is a data shop from which institutions offering information it contains can earn income,” Mr Theuri added, however noting that there was need to keep the clearinghouse updated with current data and periodic reviews of information.