100 South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 News & Views

Developing the EnvironmentalLong-Term Observatories Network

of Southern Africa (ELTOSA)Joh Henschel

a*, Johan Pauw

b, Feetham Banyikwa

c, Rui Brito

d,

Harry Chabwelae, Tony Palmer

f, Sue Ringrose

g, Luisa Santosd,

Almeida Sitoed and Albert van Jaarsveldh

LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH (LTER)facilitates the understanding of long-term environmental processes and epi-

sodic changes at local to global scales. TheEnvironmental Long-Term ObservatoriesNetwork of Southern Africa (ELTOSA) is aregional LTER network of country Environ-mental Observatories Networks (EON) en-compassing the natural environments andtheir socio-economic context. EON involvesthe documentation, analysis and informationdissemination concerning long-term (decadesto centuries), large-scale (ecosystem, biome,continental, global) ecological and socio-economic processes. These are elucidatedthrough multidisciplinary research andmonitoring over a network of institutionallyoperated field observation sites. Basic func-tions concern fieldwork, data managementand sharing, analyses and interpretation, andinformation dissemination, all operated insuch a way as to benefit most from coopera-tion among professionals and with resourcemanagers at all levels. Requirements for con-tinuity include programmatic tenure andfunding, data archiving, data sharing, train-ing, and networking. EON involves network-ing at four scales. First, the level of the EONcentre inter-connects specific study plots overtime and space, and facilitates collaborationbetween researchers and students using thecentre. Second, the country network levelinter-connects several institutions andprogrammes with common goals and activi-ties. Third, the regional network level, such asELTOSA, promotes subcontinental program-mes, synergy, and complementarity. Fourth,the global network (ILTER, InternationalLong-Term Ecological Research Network)facilitates planning and information ex-change concerning such programmes acrossthe world. This position paper describes thecurrent status and character of ELTOSA, setsout to solicit programmatic support fromfunders and policy-makers, and intends toserve as a discussion focus for its furtherdynamic development.

Introduction

BackgroundIn May 2001, we, scientists from six

countries in southern Africa, formed theEnvironmental Long-Term ObservatoriesNetwork of Southern Africa (ELTOSA).Further development was made at theELTOSA conference on Inhaca Island,Mozambique, during July 2002. ELTOSAconnects country Environmental Obser-vatories Networks (EON), the Africanadaptation of LTER (long-term ecologicalresearch). The International Long-TermEcological Research Network (ILTER) hasaccepted ELTOSA as a regional member,and currently three ELTOSA countrymembers have individual ILTER mem-bership (Namibia in 1999, Zambia in 2001,South Africa in 2002) and others are work-ing towards membership.

This position paper describes the devel-opment of a vision for EON in southernAfrica. We outline the importance ofdeveloping EON and list the opportuni-ties this offers for the natural and socialsciences. Finally, we focus on somechallenges that accompany the develop-ment of EON in the region, with sugges-tions on how to meet them.

EONLTER is a well-established concept

involving ecology,1,2 and its broaderapplication in Africa in the ecological aswell as socio-economic context is termedEnvironmental Observatories Network.While the word ‘observatories’ expressesthe idea of monitoring at multiple fixedsites that is fundamental to this kind oflong-term data acquisition, ‘network’

expresses the interdisciplinary, multi-institutional synergy and large-scale (‘bigscience’) scope of EON. Finally, EON alsoexpresses the long-term scope and thechallenge of elucidating events acrosslandscapes, species assemblages andaeons.

EON, in its generic sense, is a researchplatform and information managementsystem for multidisciplinary, multi-insti-tutional and participatory ecosystemstudies with strong local, national,sub-continental and global linkages. EONtackles the formidable task of improvingunderstanding of ecosystem function andchange, as well as agents of change, topromote wise use and management ofecosystem goods and services throughpolicies, strategies, public awareness andenvironmental education. Althoughenvironments are complex and dynamicwith many interacting factors that vary atdifferent scales, EON can provide amechanism for effective early-warningsystems and for the prediction of deleteri-ous environmental change.

Data keepersGood time-series data are necessary to

address some of our most importantquestions concerning the environment.Obtaining these requires strategies tocapture past data electronically, makenew observations, and incorporate theminto accessible, understandable andshared data archives that build up alegacy of information that is independentof the whereabouts and welfare of thecontributors. This, in turn, makes it possi-ble to obtain data that no single individ-ual, or institution or generation canaccumulate, while it simultaneouslyminimizes data loss and redundancy.These strategies towards national andregional environmental information sys-tems must be non-profit orientated andrequire synergy and good coordinationamong many scientists and institutions.3

EON therefore concerns monitoring,data archiving, data accessibility andsharing, and ensuring continuity of suchprogrammes.

ScaleLong-term and large-scale phenomena

require long-term and large-scale moni-toring programmes. Data obtained atdifferent times and different sites canbe compared across space and time.Typically, the time scale of EON monitor-ing extends from several years to centu-ries (with predictions extending intomillennium-scale probabilities). How-ever, they do also capture episodic events,

aGobabeb Training and Research Centre, P.O. Box 953,Walvis Bay, Namibia.bSouth African Environmental Observatory Network,National Research Foundation, P.O. Box 2600, Pretoria0001, South Africa.cDepartment of Botany, University of Dar-es-Salaam, P.O.Box 35060, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.dFaculty of Agronomy, University Eduardo Mondlane, CP257 Maputo, Moçambique.

eDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Zambia,P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka 10101, Zambia.fRange and Forage Institute, Agricultural Research Coun-cil, P.O. Box 101, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.gHarry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre,University of Botswana, P.O. Box 285, Maun, Botswana.hFaculty of Science, University of Stellenbosch, PrivateBag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.

*Author for correspondence. E-mail: jhenschel@drfn.org.na

environmental phenomena that may beshort, rare and unpredictable, but ex-tremely important (for example, extraor-dinary rainfalls or droughts, heat-wavesor deep frosts, freak storms or extensivehot fires). Spatial scales typically extendfrom the size of a plot or patch (for exam-ple, 1 m2, 1 ha, 1 km2), across landscapes tobiomes. Networking stretches the scaleacross subcontinents, continents and theglobe. EON endeavours to provide base-line data and information on changes,including how changes affect and areaffected by people.

Over time, environmental scienceshave become more holistic in their out-look, combining natural and socio-economic environments into one field.This cross-sectoral approach addressesissues relating to sustainable develop-ment, but also provides scientific strengthby being more inclusive, although itremains an academic challenge to masterand to evaluate. The key is synergy,where co-operation produces greaterproducts than the sum of the outputs byindividual participants working alone.

Multidisciplinary researchBasic research provides first-hand

knowledge that can be translated intorelevant information and applied to rele-vant target groups. Such research isnecessary for coming up with novelinsights that were not predicted initially.Knowledge, and its application, can inthis way advance in quantum leaps. Basicresearch is thus fundamental for adaptiveapplied research. The distinction be-tween applied and basic research, how-ever, is not always clear with biodiversityconservation and primary productivity.Basic research in the context of its applica-tion is especially important for effectivecapacity building, because the ability toconceptualize is as important for researchas is the acquisition of skills.

While EON is currently conducted byecologists rather than social scientists oreconomists, the human element is one ofits core components and it calls for multi-disciplinary approaches (Box 1). Bound-aries of disciplines should be indistinct inorder to address complex environmentalproblems, however, ecologists also needto delve into history, religion, philosophy,geography, economics, and politicalscience.4 Sustainable natural resourcemanagement inextricably links thenatural environment and the socio-eco-nomic environment, as has been the casefor many millennia in Africa. Changingconditions in natural environments thatsupport larger and more demanding

human populations in developing coun-tries make natural and socio-economicsustainability and their indicators impor-tant issues. Furthermore, such research isvery closely linked with the need to raiseawareness and to transfer relevant knowl-edge to resource managers and incorpo-rate it into policy. African environmentalscientists are gaining experience in usingmultidisciplinary and simultaneousbasic–applied approaches and can there-fore be influential in the growth of thisapproach in other regions of the world.EON is an important platform for theseaspects and it is therefore essential topromote it in southern Africa.

Environmental conventionsIn the aftermath of the 2002 World

Summit for Sustainable Development, itis important to stress that EON and itsrelated programmes (including LTER andthe Global Terrestrial Observation Sys-tem, GTOS) are crucial to nations and theinternational community meeting thegoals of Agenda 21. EON represents a net-work of programmes and field stations

that monitor environments and canprovide data on baseline conditions,changes and trends, or a lack of changes.This provides input of time-series dataand reflection on the conditions in whichthe Conventions operate, including theirsuccesses and failures. Such monitoring isan important element in the implementa-tion of the UN Convention on BiologicalDiversity (CBD), the UN Convention toCombat Desertification (CCD), the UNFrame Convention for Climate Change(FCCC), the Ramsar Convention onWetlands, the Convention on Interna-tional Trade in Endangered Species(CITES), as well as numerous other globalprogrammes, such as the InternationalGeosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP),the International Human DimensionsProgramme (IHDP), and DIVERSITAS.

EON therefore promotes the develop-ment of the interest, understanding, andpolitical will in African countries to incor-porate the environment into informeddevelopment planning. EON focuses onparameters that are good indicators. Areefforts to improve water/soil/atmosphere,

News & Views South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 101

Box 1. Typical kinds of parameters measured at EON sites (not necessarily all at each site).

• Climate: precipitation, temperature, humidity, wind, solar radiation, ocean currents

• Episodic events: high rainfall, long drought, high flood, heavy storm, deep frost, extensive hotfire, landslide, volcanic eruption, algal bloom/red tide, tornado/cyclone, political strife,pandemic, economic depression/boom, disastrous pollution

• Primary productivity: Nett primary productivity (NPP), leaf area index, forest biomass, NDVI,phytoplankton

• Ground truthing: for remote sensing, for example, NDVI, biomass, precipitation

• Long-term population dynamics: local and spatial changes in abundance and demographyof wild and domestic plants and animals

• Growth: especially of long-lived individuals (for example, whales, Welwitschia, yellow-woodtrees, lichens)

• Phenology: seasonality, development patterns, reproductive output

• Biodiversity: species richness, alpha and beta diversity, biogeography, status of threatenedspecies

• Community composition: ecosystem changes, alien invaders, bush encroachment

• Decomposition: rate of consumption of standard substrates, amount of detritus and deadwood

• Weathering: erosion, corrosion, dune movements

• Water levels: runoff volume, dam level, groundwater depth, water quality

• Greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases: background level, local volume

• Carbon stocks (gains and losses): standing crop, combustion of fossil fuel, fire prevalence

• Soil nutrients: organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, light fraction

• Natural resource use: water abstraction, grazing, type and intensity of land use, water, fire-wood and timber, yield of harvest of marine and terrestrial plants and animals

• State of Environment Indices: consumption, emissions, waste production, income fromparticular natural resources, poverty index, welfare, health, education levels, marketing ofnatural products, employment rate, bio-indicators

• Human demography: density over time and space, age structure, life expectancy, birth rate,emigration and immigration, economic and educational status

• Application of appropriate technology: conservation farming techniques, geneticallymodified crops, unleaded petrol, clean production technologies

• Implementation of environmental policies: environmental impact assessments, watermanagement, pollution and waste, invasive alien control

102 South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 News & Views

or to improve the basic living conditionsof people or biota working or not? Atwhich scale? How can we make predic-tions? What chronic changes may affectpeople and the environment in the futureand how can one obtain early warnings?Most reliable answers can be gained byexamining well-documented lessonsextending over time, space and ecosys-tems, lessons learnt from quantitativedata obtained through monitoring andsynergy among compatible institutionsand data archives. EON can provide this.

Development of EON in AfricaRecently, Africa has been involved in

the international developments of LTER.Namibia was represented at the foundingof ILTER in 1993, when the ILTER networkoffice was established in Albuquerque,New Mexico (Box 2). A visit by ILTER toSouth Africa in 19965 and the subsequentvisit by a South African group to ILTER6

caught the attention of several Africancountries and initiated planning towardsnetwork formation. This led to the ILTERmembership of Namibia in August 1999,based on the formation of a countrynetwork in Namibia (now called Environ-mental Observatories Network ofNamibia, EONN). The first official EONcentre in Africa was the Gobabeb Trainingand Research Centre in the NamibDesert; several additional potentialEONN centres were also identified inNamibia.

The South African LTER movementorganized an International LTER Sympo-sium and a National LTER Workshop in1999, in Skukuza, South Africa. This was alandmark occasion in which the interna-tional ILTER representatives and fourAfrican countries participated. Zambiagained ILTER membership in July 2001,followed by South Africa in April 2002.The South African government grantedfunding to the National Research Foun-dation (NRF) to form the South AfricanEnvironmental Observatories Network(SAEON) and charged it with selectingthe first South African flagship EONcentre and identifying further candidatecentres, as well as spearheading the EONprocess (programme and infrastructuredevelopment) in South Africa.

Discussions towards a regional EONnetwork were initiated at the August1999 meeting in Skukuza (four Africancountries), and followed up at the August2000 meeting in Snowbird, U.S.A. (fivecountries). A tour of American LTER sitesand a meeting in Washington, D.C.,by representatives from Botswana,Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and

Tanzania during May 2001, culminated inthe formation of ELTOSA. Soon Kenya,Zambia and Zimbabwe joined the discus-sion forum, and there are now eightcountries involved, although they differin status (Table 1). During July 2002 onInhaca Island, Mozambique, the firstELTOSA annual general meeting beganformulating the modus operandi andbusiness plan of the ELTOSA network.

EON/LTER networks at local, country,regional and global levels

Benefits of EON increase through itsfunctional networking at many levels.Synergy and coordination of many scien-tists, institutions and other stakeholders,adds context and continuity, and providesEON programmes with a broad, dynamicand adaptive outlook.

While research programmes conductedat individual sites and centres form thebasic ingredients, they are nested atvarious levels (Table 2). ILTER promotesthe idea that countries are appropriatelevels for institutions to coordinate localLTER programmes.1,2 Countries formnetworks, endorsed by their own govern-ments, and this facilitates their effective-ness and durability. Country networksare members of regional networks, conti-

nents, subcontinents, or groups of nationswith common interests. Country andregional networks, in turn, are affiliatedto ILTER, which provides guidancethrough mutual consensus.

Local networksAn EON centre is a local network where

fieldwork is conducted (Box 3), for exam-ple Gobabeb (Box 4). An effective EONcentre requires networking and agendasetting by local EON programme manag-ers to make their centre known and itsdata accessible and useful, to attractexpertise from elsewhere, and to promoteinformation exchange between profes-sionals and local resource managers. Itsfunctions are coordination of researchand monitoring at specific places; manag-ing, archiving and analysing data; dis-seminating information, and educationand outreach programmes. An EON cen-tre operates permanent field sites thatserve as nodes for affiliated sites whichmay be either external to the core EONarea, or based on temporary projects.EON centres are typically associated withfield stations operated by national (ratherthan foreign) institutions that can givepermanence and relevance to a successionof research and monitoring programmes

Table 1. Current status of ELTOSA members in December 2002 indicating whether or not (Y/N) they are ILTERmembers, have government commitment for funding, are actively developing a country network, and havedeclared EON centres.

Country ILTER member Own government funding Developing country EON EON centres

Botswana N N Y Y

Kenya N N N Y

Mozambique N N Y Y

Namibia Y N Y Y

South Africa Y Y Y N

Tanzania N N Y Y

Zambia Y N Y N

Zimbabwe N N N N

Box 2. Objectives of the International Long Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER).10

The ILTER Network was founded in 1993 with the purpose to

• Promote and enhance the understanding of long-term ecological phenomena across nationaland regional boundaries.

• Promote comparative analysis and synthesis across sites.

• Facilitate interaction among participating scientists across disciplines and sites.

• Promote comparability of observation and experiments, and integration of research andmonitoring.

• Encourage data exchange.

• Provide training and education in comparative long-term ecological research and its relevanttechnologies.

• Contribute to the scientific basis for ecosystem management.

• Facilitate international collaboration among comprehensive, site-based, long-term ecologicalresearch programmes.

• Facilitate development of such programmes in regions where they currently do not exist.

and can also house the data archives.EON centres and programmes havenon-terminal time horizons (‘no sunsetclause’, J. Gosz pers. comm.). A stronglikelihood of permanence is important forplanning new EON centres.

Through their connection to the EONcentre, partner institutions increasecapacity, support the data archive, andgain access to previous data and informa-tion, which enhances synergy andrelevance. Well-funded projects fromforeign institutions, particularly indus-trial nations, can (and are often necessaryto) supplement EON sites in return forguidance and access to the data archivesof their hosts. It is the role of local institu-tions to coordinate foreign–local collabo-rations and to ensure that data and

information are archived at the EONcentre.

EON centres can be diverse in nature.For instance, in Namibia, the EtoshaEcological Institute is operated by agovernment institution in a national park,and the agricultural stations Gellap-Ost,Sonop and Mile-46 are government insti-tutions on state land. Gobabeb is alsosituated in a park and is operated througha joint venture between government(Ministry of Environment and Tourism)and an NGO (Desert Research Founda-tion of Namibia). Erongo Mountain isa freehold conservancy affiliated toGobabeb. Walvis–Sandwich-Lagoon areunder joint management of municipalityand government, also affiliated toGobabeb.

Country networksEON centres exchange information

with each other to form a nationalnetwork. It is at the country level thatEON meta-databases really come intoplay; the information contained in severaldata archives of EON centres is combinedand strengthens the data policy of theinstitutions managing these sites. Thisgives practitioners access to informationon who is managing which data and whatthe data access conditions are. Metadataprovide context and effectiveness tonetworking by EON on national andinternational levels.

It is at the level of country networks thatthe commitment for EON is most crucialfor programmes to be effective, as thekinds of institutions associated with EON

News & Views South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 103

Table 2. Networking of African EON at four scales.

Aspect/scale Site or centre Country Region Global

Network EON centre (e.g. Gobabeb) EONN, ZamEON, SAEON ELTOSA ILTER

Operated by Local resident institutions (e.g.Desert Research Foundation ofNamibia)

National committee with leadinstitution

ELTOSAcommittee (and office?) ILTER members and office

Networking Among researchers and train-ers

Among centres and country col-laborators

Between countries and regionalcollaborators

Between countries and regions

Most important functions Monitor and conduct fieldresearch, collect and archivedata, provide data and informa-tion, conduct training and out-reach

Facilitate continuity and opera-tion of centres, define andreview common goals, coordi-nate si te act iv i t ies, datasharing, policy relevance

Facilitate country networks, de-fine common vision, coordina-tion of country activities, maxi-mize regional complement ofsites, researcher exchanges,ILTER relations

International collaborativeprogrammes, guide and facili-tate country and regional net-works, international profiling

Fieldwork Conduct research and training,interpret, publish

Enhance standardisation andquality verification, cross-centre activities

Enhance standardisation, facili-tate training, transboundary ac-tivities

Enhance standardization, facili-tate training, global program-mes

Data management Data archive, centre metadata Country metadata connectingcentre metadata

Information via common con-nection of information commu-nications technology

Guide data management

Data sharing policy Centre-specific, guided bycountry policy

Country-specific to guide cen-tres

Guide countries Guide countries and regions

Researchers Core of local resident research-ers, foreign collaborators, train-ing of young scientists

Training of young scientistsfrom country, collaborationamong national and foreignresearchers

Training of young scientistsfrom region, regional and inter-national collaboration

International collaboration

Training Fieldwork and data manage-ment, researchers and techni-cians

Promote training at centres andidentify appropriate candidates,facilitate availability of futurepractitioners

Conduct training in data man-agement, exchange studentsbetween countries

Facilitate regional trainingprogrammes, particularly indata management

Funding required for Core monitoring, data manage-ment, research projects, train-ing, information dissemination

Communications, metadata, in-formation dissemination

Communications, workshops,information dissemination

Communications, conferences,AGM

Current principal funders International collaboration,fund-raising not through re-search, government and indus-try

Donor and government-fundednetworks

ILTER, South African govern-ment

ILTER

Planning for futurepotential funders

Donors, local programme funds(national science foundations)

National science foundations,National EON offices

Regional programmes viaSADC, ILTER

ILTER

Institutional capacitybuilding

Strategy for future human ca-pacity and organizational de-velopment

Identify and promote institu-t ions, guide provis ion ofnational support, national train-ing workshops

Synergy between institutions inthe region, researcher ex-changes

International collaboration thatpromotes institutional capacity,visiting researchers

104 South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 News & Views

operate most effectively within thecontext of national objectives and areaffected by the commitment of nationaldecision-makers. In other words, withoutcountry networks to bind inter-institu-tional connectivity through objectivesand common vision, EON would not beassured of the compatibility and continu-ity that characterizes LTER. Country net-works can either operate with a nationaloffice, as in South Africa, or have a leadcentre in their network that coordinatescountry activities, as in Namibia.

Institutional and human capacity build-ing are the most challenging factors forthe development of EON in southernAfrica. It is a priority for each countryEON programme to promote capacitybuilding and to give recommendationsfor best practices in this regard. EON canonly have a future with good recruitmentfrom within countries. Students, startingat school level, should be trained to be-come practitioners and leaders to con-tinue EON into the future. Governmentsand the public should be made aware ofthe valuable contribution EON is makingto natural resource management policiesand in facilitating the incremental accu-mulation of knowledge.

Regional networksCountry networks are members of re-

gional networks, encompassing geo-graphic groups of nations; there areregional LTER networks in NorthAmerica, South America, Asia and Pacific,the Middle East, central Europe, westernEurope, and southern Africa.

All ELTOSA members are countries thatare practising or interested in EON.Countries are represented by EON lead-ers — ecologists from within a country, at-tached to either a national network officeor an institution operating a (potential)EON centre. ELTOSA members do notneed to have functional country net-works yet, but should be developing suchnetworks to become ILTER members.ELTOSA can facilitate the establishmentof EON centres and country networkswhere requested.

Proposed roles of ELTOSA includeimproving connectivity between countrynetworks and to coordinate regionalplanning of EON, in particular makingbest use of multi-national programmes,for example, concerning transboundaryparks/ecosystems, river basins, and theatmosphere. ELTOSA should facilitatecollaboration, high-quality research, andstandardization of methods where possi-ble and appropriate. Such regional collab-oration is the best way for EON centres to

complement, rather than duplicate eachother, data sharing and dissemination ofinformation are fundamental to EON,and ensuring this is an important role of

ELTOSA. ELTOSA should increase thevisibility of EON programmes bothwithin southern Africa and globally, assistwith advising funders, facilitate the distri-

Box 3. EON centre characteristics.

• Locally responsible environmental research institution that coordinates research and trainingat study sites under its jurisdiction.

• Scope of long-term tenure of site (decades to centuries).

• Member of national EON network.

• overall goals, and research and monitoring projects serving these goals.

• A core set of monitoring activities with commitment to continue these.

• Updated detailed documentation of all field and data procedures.

• Management of shareable data archives and metadata housed within the local institutionbased on documented data policy and procedures.

• Long time horizon of monitoring and research goals/outputs based at specific study sites.

• A legacy of data and data-derived products at the centre, with good growth potential.

• Strategy and scope for long-term funding security.

• Training strategies and activities for capacity building, primarily targeting national and regionalfuture professionals, and secondarily globally.

• Strategy and activities towards ongoing institutional capacity building.

• National and international collaboration.

• Appropriate information exchange with scientists and students, policy-makers and localcommunities.

Box 4. Gobabeb Training and Research Centre.

• The first African EON centre is Gobabeb in Namibia.7 Gobabeb was started in 1962 as a fieldresearch station in the Central Namib Desert to host researchers and students. A range ofenvironmental training opportunities and programmes were developed. In 1998, the GobabebTraining and Research Centre became a non-governmental organization under a joint venturebetween government, represented by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and an NGO,the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia.8 In 1999, Gobabeb EON became the lead centreat the founding of EONN and the Namibian membership of ILTER.

• Data and detailed records of methods and study sites of resident and visiting scientists haveaccumulated at Gobabeb. Continued monitoring by Gobabeb staff follows some projects thatwere originally conceived with short-term goals. The monitoring programme includes climate;renewable energy; surface and ground water availability and use; dynamics of dunes,inselbergs and desert pavement; weathering; effects and geomorphology of anthropogenicdisturbance; productivity, growth, population dynamics and diversity of trees, shrubs andgrasses, riparian forest, and several vertebrate and invertebrate populations; dynamics andmanagement of natural resources for people.

• Besides the core programme, Gobabeb EON also feeds past data into new research. Not onlyresearch is conducted, but data and understanding gained from EON also form the basis forfield courses, in-service training, environmental education programmes, and are used forpolicy-making through projects such as Parliamentary Environmental Updates and Decision-Makers’Guides. Today, the 40-year old Gobabeb Training and Research Centre represents anextensive network of researchers and students. Training opportunities include in-serviceexperience and courses concerning a range of disciplines. In this respect, Gobabeb is gearedtowards training potential future EON practitioners for EONN and ELTOSA.

• Sites of the Gobabeb EON centre are situated across the Namib Desert and adjacent areas;satellite EON sites are the developing research facilities of Walvis–Sandwich Lagoon andErongo Mountain Conservancy. Gobabeb EON sites cross an extremely steep rainfallgradient (10–300 mm per annum over a distance of 300 km), ideal for monitoring and address-ing questions concerning biodiversity, desertification and climate change. Data and researchfindings are being incorporated into an electronic data archive, while the extension of physicalfacilities enables Gobabeb to increase services to research and training clients and partners.Indeed, most of the research needs to be conducted by visiting scientists, as there are only afew resident researchers.

• The Gobabeb EON programme is largely funded through income from professional servicesand project overheads. Training programmes, as well as enhancement of institutionalcapacity, rely on donors. Gobabeb is striving to become financially self-sufficient eventually tobe supported mostly by projects and service provision for training and research. Thischallenge faces many field stations in southern Africa without the prospect for governmentfunding for EON programmes.

bution of funds, as well as assist with feed-back and review processes to funders.

ELTOSA members are English- andPortuguese-speaking countries fromAfrica south of the Equator. Countries inthis subcontinent are already connectedthrough social, economic and environ-mental networks, giving ELTOSA a goodstarting point. While pan-African politicalnetworks are beginning to connect all 53African countries at government level[and ELTOSA is set to make a significantcontribution to the New Plan for Africa’sDevelopment (NEPAD)], the networkingcapacity among research and traininginstitutions across Africa is still limited. Itis also important for ELTOSA to stimulateLTER network formation in both Westand North Africa.

Global networkThere are many benefits for country

EON networks and the regional ELTOSAnetwork to affiliate with ILTER (Box 5),which provides guidance through mutualconsensus. ILTER currently has 25 coun-try members and several regional mem-bers.9,10 ILTER provides information andadvice, and also facilitates coordination ofglobal programmes. It specifically avoidsbeing prescriptive, avoids the design anduse of standard templates for fieldworkmethods, but does encourage standard-ization where possible. ILTER empha-sizes that projects be designed for localconditions to provide effective indicators.ILTER collaborates closely with other

global networks such as GTOS, IBOY,DIVERSITAS, and IGBP. Metadatamanagement is a major focus of ILTER,11

and it can help countries to develop thiscapacity. The ILTER-funded ELTOSAworkshop and ILTER-metadata course inMozambique from 21 to 26 July 2002 was agood example of such support.

Conditions for EON in AfricaEON is developing according to African

needs and capabilities. Few Africancountries have national research councilsor science and technology ministriesmandated to fund or otherwise directlysupport research institutions, even gov-ernment research departments operate inconditions of serious financial shortage.Where fully-fledged councils do notexist (this applies to all southern Africancountries except South Africa), networkstend to be based on associations betweeninstitutions.

Furthermore, because there are so fewAfrican researchers, collaboration andinnovation are crucial to achieving thechallenging goals set by the agenda.Government does support research, butthis is largely by recognition and endorse-ment. Government also plays an impor-tant role in planning and outsourcingcommitments resulting from the ratifica-tion of environmental conventions,largely donor-funded. The focus of suchfunding is on furthering sustainabledevelopment directly; the fundamentalrole of EON lies in monitoring the effects

of such support.The great need to meet basic human

requirements, especially food security, isgiven top priority in Africa and researchneeds to support this priority. This re-quirement for relevance and applicabilitydoes not diminish the need for Africanresearch to be academically sound, basedon sound data and scientific analyses.Dependence on natural resources in ruralareas is not only a challenge for resourcemanagement, but also provides opportu-nities for resource users to participatedirectly in research, including recordingdata and assisting with its interpretation.Participation at the grass-roots levelprovides learning opportunities and cangreatly facilitate the fulfilment of recom-mendations resulting from researchendeavours. Users of natural resources,including some of the poorest people,become directly involved in monitoringand interpretation processes. At the sametime, top-level decision-makers need tobe informed and become involved. Therelatively small government departmentsand short hierarchies make this goal fairlyeasy for research institutions to achieve.

Currently human and institutionalcapacities in environmental research inAfrica are still low compared to manyother areas of the world. This can beovercome through proactive trainingprogrammes that focus on skills forAfrican environmental researchers andenvironmental awareness for resourcemanagers and decision-makers. Whileinstitutional capacity growth will requiremore concrete support from governmentand funding agencies, institutions willultimately become more self-sufficientwhen more highly skilled research andtraining staff increase the income-generating capabilities of institutionsthrough professional service provisionand large projects.

Opportunities and challenges for EON insouthern Africa

There are many opportunities for envi-ronmental scientists to work in the field insouthern Africa. In the global context,southern Africa represents a unique geo-graphic location: there is a great diversityof habitats and people, including ex-tremes represented in several deserts andrainforests, escarpments and mountains,woodland savannas and inselbergs,perennial and ephemeral rivers, swamps,lagoons and lakes, warm coral reefs andcold upwelling currents, and oceanicislands ranging from tropical to uninhab-ited sub-antarctic. The region includesfour global biodiversity hotspots12 and

News & Views South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 105

Box 5. Benefits of countries and regions affiliating with ILTER.

• Designation as a participating network: in many cases, this will strengthen the justificationfor continuing measurements at the site(s). It will also provide a natural focus for coordinated,multidisciplinary measurements and programmes.

• Enhanced collaboration: by being included in a global network, the opportunities forcoordinated observations and scientific collaboration will be much improved. Individualnetworks will learn from the experiences of other networks for science operation and datamanagement.

• Contribution to global environmental conventions: for climate, biodiversity, desertifica-tion, wetlands and endangered species, among others. The participating networks will makean important contribution to meeting the political and scientific objectives of these conventionsand the responsibility taken on by their respective countries.

• Enhancement of the network’s impact: in most cases, the effectiveness of a network’soperation will be enhanced if others use the collected data. Also, a network’s programme willbenefit by having structured access to data from other similar networks.

• Facilitation of data access: The availability of comparative data from a wider range of siteswill improve the interpretation of a particular site’s data.

• Increased visibility: nationally and internationally, through participating in the networks andvarious initiatives.

• Opportunities for additional funding and benefits: although the networks will be largelyself-financed, it is expected that supplemental funding will be sought for special initiatives, forpilot projects, and to fill gaps in observations. The leverage provided by ILTER will be helpful inmaking the case for new funds.

several WWF areas of high conservationpriority. Many of the largest river catch-ments and lakes are shared betweencountries, providing opportunities fortransboundary research programmes.Southern Africa contains many large andfamous national parks, game reserves, orother kinds of wilderness areas, harbour-ing not only fauna and flora, but also en-tire ecosystems and human settlements.World-class institutions that have been orshould be developed into EON centres insouthern Africa include institutions atSerengeti, Lake Malawi, Inhaca, MarionIsland, Kruger–Gorongosa, Okavango,Cape Floral Kingdom, Maputaland, andGobabeb (to name a few, without imply-ing that these are the only ones or thatthese should necessarily all become EONcentres).

There are also many opportunities forEON centres to cover diverse habitatsacross the region in a complementaryfashion. There is a need to monitor thesame kinds of habitats and parameters atdifferent sites in order to fully understandthe spatial dimensions of ecosystemsdrivers and response mechanisms, or toreplicate observations. While EON moni-tors spatial shifts in biomes, vegetationtypes and productivity, it will be impor-tant to relate these to the dominant issuesof climate change, water sources, use andneeds, as well as land tenure, land trans-formation and land use.

Southern Africa has particular water,land and atmospheric conditions thatinvite study and require monitoring todetect patterns of change. Fresh water isthe most important resource of all, and itspathways, sources, requirements, uses,abuses and conservation need to be moni-tored and studied intensively, as it isfundamental to human and ecosystemhealth. Current land transformation andland-use changes are opportunities tounderstand the environmental implica-tions of changing land-use patterns.Climate change will affect both water andland conditions. It is therefore importantto monitor continuously climate, as,indeed, all EON sites do. In addition, theparticular atmospheric conditions insouthern Africa facilitate calibration oflarge-scale processes, invaluable for pre-dictions at global scale, for example, theorigin and pathway of smoke and otheratmospheric components traced bySAFARI 2000.18,19

Rural people in southern Africa dependon natural resources, and many of thesepeople are poor and in dire need ofimproved livelihood security. They aresubject to the vagaries of an already harsh

environment, the shortage of resourcesand education that they have to cope withrenders them even more vulnerable inthe face of potentially extreme eventscaused by climate change. Socio-eco-nomic–ecological research is required toaddress this situation; indeed, participa-tory monitoring and research in poorrural communities, coupled with aware-ness and information exchange, are agood way of promoting sustainabledevelopment.13 EON captures the mainfactors involved in natural resourcemanagement, provides objective data onchanges, increases the ability to learnfrom the past, and improves prediction ofenvironmental developments. Thisshould benefit the livelihoods of ruralcommunities through education andimproved environmental quality result-ing from either mitigation or preparationfor chronic change.

The SAEON research framework14

encapsulates these opportunities andpriorities in its tabulation of four stressors— climate change, land transformation,nutrient loading, and episodic events —against four response measures — bio-diversity, primary and secondary produc-tion, disturbance regimes, and nutrientfluxes. Human welfare and the impact oftechnological advances should be addedas these affect the environment in manydifferent ways. The multi-sectoral ap-proach to research and training (combin-ing socio-economic and biogeophysicalaspects) has a good track record in south-ern Africa and can have heuristic value forresearchers from further afield.

Southern Africa has considerable exist-ing institutional infrastructure in envi-ronmental fields that can host, facilitate,or become environmental observatories— field stations, long-term programmesby universities, and donor- or govern-ment-funded institutions. While thelocation of these established programmesneed not dictate the planning of newEON centres, it is pragmatic to build onexisting infrastructure and expertise.Considering current financial conditions,and given the very many environmentalissues that require study, it should be apriority to base EON networks on localinstitutions with good track records.

The main challenges facing EON insouthern Africa are of the organiza-tional kind. It is especially important tomaintain local leadership of foreign-funded, long-term environmental re-search programmes on the subcontinent.Potential contributions by foreign-funded programmes are appreciated, butthese programmes are sometimes insensi-

tive towards local traditions and sensitivi-ties, and intellectual property rights andsystems, placing additional demands onthe already limited capacities of southernAfrican countries.

In summary, southern Africa has manychallenging environmental subjects andhigh-quality environmental institutions,providing opportunities for EON to makea significant impact on local environmen-tal policies, and to develop the capacity toconduct research of good quality andquantity. EON also provides a local frame-work to facilitate and coordinate interna-tional research collaboration in the field.

ContinuityEON centres require continuity to be

effective in providing long-term datawith reflective and predictive capabilities.This requires security of tenure and com-mitment to keep monitoring programmesgoing and to keep them relevant. Toensure success of EON, yesterday’s andtoday’s data and information should beavailable and understood in future.Skilled practitioners must be recruited toensure the succession and growth of EONin southern Africa. EON requires severallevels of networking to continue to beoperational and adaptive. Improvedprospects of funding for research andtraining in southern Africa will be requiredfor field stations to continue collecting,archiving, sharing, and interpreting dataand disseminating information.

Data archiving and sharingEON banks on data. EON centres re-

quire physical and technical facilities andexpertise to give data a future. Good datamanagement mechanisms need to ensurethe availability and correct interpretationof data beyond the professional life-spanof individual EON practitioners. For datato be useful for analyses and interpreta-tion, the location and method of collec-tion must be known and the data must beaccessible, as documented in metadata.EON centres should archive original fielddata books and manage electronic dataand metadata. LTER sites elsewhere in theworld have extensive experience andsoftware for these functions,11 whichcan either be adopted or guide localadaptation. Mechanisms must be in placeto facilitate access and understanding bypersons and projects other than thosecollecting data, so that data can serveseveral purposes for different users nowand in future (for example, comparisonover space and time). Data-sharing poli-cies must be in place to guide access bymultiple users (see Box 6).

106 South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 News & Views

News & Views South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 107

TrainingTechnical and professional staff is re-

quired to operate EON centres. Althoughthere are some potential EON centres insouthern Africa, several require furtherpersonnel development to reach thecapacity needed to become fully-fledgedEON centres. The staff of an EON centrewould typically consist of a director,resident researcher(s) and students, datamanager, field and data assistants, andeducators. A regional pool of futurepractitioners needs to be developed on anongoing basis. Training courses andprogrammes of in-service training shouldbe developed and held at formal traininginstitutions (universities, polytechnicons,colleges) and at existing EON centres, and

can involve experienced foreign practitio-ners (for example, through ILTER).Various training initiatives in the regionshould develop partnerships and coordi-nate with each other. Training shouldfocus on field techniques, data manage-ment, analyses and interpretation, andapplication (see Box 7 for some sugges-tions on course contents). Such trainingshould be directed at postgraduatestudents, as well as existing EON centrestaff. Multidisciplinary courses wouldfurther the broad experience required byEON. Principal investigators will in fu-ture continue to be recruited from mas-ter ’s or doctoral graduates, some ofwhom may have done their thesis work atEON centres as part of programmes

coordinated expressly for that purpose.The success of EON programmes shouldhelp to provide job opportunities and toattract good students, but recruitmentcan also be improved through bursaries,good publicity through environmentaleducation, and the professional advan-tages of gaining multidisciplinary experi-ence through EON.

Network coordinationThe basic building blocks of EON are

EON centres, local networks of sites,researchers and information technology.However, centres are strongly dependenton funding for actual activities andcannot secure the pathways for obtainingfunds themselves; networks at countryand regional levels are required to achievethis and to guide the overall direction.Country networks define the characteris-tics of EON in their country and have apowerful influence on the ability of EONcentres to operate in the long term.Members can affect the character ofcountry networks, but the regional andglobal networks can also affect thecountry character. As countries, ratherthan institutions, are the smallest units ofEON, this is the first node that needs to beconsidered. For small countries, it maynot be affordable to have separate EONcountry offices, and it would be morecost-effective to conduct these functionsthrough EON centres, as is the case inNamibia. ELTOSA would ultimatelybenefit from a regional network office,either residing at an EON centre orcountry office in the region, or at a largeroffice, such as SADC-ELMS (Environ-ment and Land Management Sector, or atits successor in the Food, Agriculture andNatural Resources Sector). EON practitio-ners, however, must remain key playersin the development of ELTOSA for it tobe effective. In other words, fundersshould first be guided through the cur-rent bottom-up discussions in order tostrengthen EON in the region, althoughsome funding for regional networkingwill also be required.

FundingBased on actual experience, to operate

the programmes of an EON centre such asGobabeb, Inhaca, Okavango or Serengeti,requires in the order of US$100 000 perannum. This estimate is substantiatedby experience in several countries insouthern Africa and also in other conti-nents. This amount is sufficient for smallprogrammes with a small staff (seeabove), field transport, equipment main-tenance, data management, and commu-

Box 7. Some suggestions for EON training.

• Training approachesA: courses focusing on EON-related knowledge and skills.B: in-service training and internships.

• EON field technicians: the A–Z of field data, climate, NPP, plant growth, tree and shrubphenology, animal abundance, population structure, community composition, diversityindices, water availability, soil condition, geomorphological processes, atmospheric composi-tion, experiments, planning new data sets, instruments and their care.

• EON data management: data book management, metadata management, data computer-ization, quality assessment and control, electronic data archiving, data sharing policy, internetpublication management, managing computer hardware and software upgrades.

• Environmental Indicators: what to indicate, choosing good indicators, monitoring over timeand space, determining thresholds, detecting change of state, spatial data analyses, trenddetection over time, data display, publications, information dissemination.

• EON applications for natural resource management: introduction to multiple disciplines,linking science and local communities, techniques of information exchange, identifying limitingresources, monitoring natural resource use and availability, participatory research, informa-tion dissemination.

Box 6. Example of benefit of data sharing, SAFARI 2000.

SAFARI 2000’s data policy is based on open data sharing, cooperation, and synergism.20

All SAFARI 2000 data are made available to all SAFARI 2000 participants through open onlinestorage or submission to the Regional Data Centre. Access to some of the data at the RegionalData Centre will be limited to registered SAFARI 2000 participants for a period of 18 monthsafter completion of the project. SAFARI 2000 data are placed in the public domain, except forcommercially restricted or copyrighted data. Originators may specify appropriate restrictions todata sets deposited at the Regional Data Centre. Any scientist wishing to participate and benefitfrom SAFARI 2000 must register with the Regional Data Centre and be approved as a participantby the Science Steering Committee. Registration requires an explicit declaration by the regis-trant to abide by the SAFARI 2000 Data Policy.

After registration as a SAFARI 2000 participant, investigators using data generated by otherinvestigators should request permission from the data originator and offer co-authorship. Giventhat collaboration signifies the spirit of SAFARI 2000, joint publications between in-region andout-of-region scientists are especially encouraged.

SAFARI 2000 participants participate actively in data sharing. First, they inform SAFARI 2000of their primary and derived data holdings through the registration of metadata as soon as possi-ble after collecting or procuring a data set. Second, when primary data reduction and qualitychecking procedures are complete, or secondary data products are stabilized, participantsmake such data sets available to other participants. The meta-database facilitates the rapidsharing of information between participants by assembling descriptive summaries of allresearch activities in a searchable index. Such information allows for the identification of poten-tial gaps and overlaps in the SAFARI 2000 data archive and may aid in the avoidance of redun-dant field efforts. The metadata entries can be made publicly searchable, even though the datasets themselves may be copyright restricted or restricted to SAFARI 2000 participants.

108 South African Journal of Science 99, March/April 2003 News & Views

nication for the EON programme, anddoes not cover major new acquisitions forestablishing EON programmes, or estab-lishing and maintaining infrastructure ofthe field station itself (which requiresmany times this amount). Satellite sitesoperate with less funding, but these sitesdo incur additional managerial costs totheir parent institutions; funding at suchsites depends on many factors, butUS$25 000 would be a reasonable estimate.Funding is also required for countrynetworking activities, which includescommunication, transport, and atten-dance or convening of meetings. Giventhe chronic shortage of funding forresearch in southern Africa, funding canin some cases come through trainingprogrammes linked to EON. Also, muchof the funding needs to come from inter-national sources. Active collaborationwith foreign scientists can help to sustainEON projects. Furthermore, it is possibleto obtain donor funding based on theimportant function EON has for improv-ing the global knowledge base, as well asthe critical ability to evaluate and predictfactors affecting sustainable develop-ment. Strategic planning is required byELTOSA and its member countries todevelop a core of EON centres with suffi-cient funding.

EON for AfricaThe Environmental Observatories

Network represents a new approach inAfrica, but it incorporates and integrates alegacy of environmental programmesand previous initiatives in this direction.15

In its field, EON is currently the Renais-sance in Africa.16 It is based on improvingthe theoretical understanding of theenvironment and simultaneously im-proving the application of this knowl-edge for sustainable development,making best use of two powerful scientificapproaches — basic and applied research.This greatly promotes informed policy-making and wise environmental manage-ment.

Although ELTOSA is still embryonic,and most member countries do not yethave formal networks (Table 1),17 there isalready sufficient momentum among allELTOSA members to proceed with aregional network that will facilitate thefurther development of EON centresand country networks. Fundamentalchallenges at the outset are obtainingcommitment, political will, and fundingfrom governments and regional bodiessuch as SADC to promote EON as anenvironmental programme that repre-sents a collective of institutions that will

provide invaluable information for policydecisions. For ELTOSA to achieve this, itshould form a core group that developsstrategies and promotes country-specificand regionally relevant programmesthrough field stations with current andpotential environmental monitoringsites, with the capacity to archive data andsupport training and research. This coregroup will require dedicated resources tocarry out these functions and to guideprospective programme supporters in theregion even if the professional membersof the core team are themselves EONpractitioners based at individual fieldstations in the area.

ELTOSA’s basic role is to facilitate theability of countries and field stations todevelop EON capacity in a coordinatedand complementary fashion and to focuson environmental indicators required foridentifying and predicting critical changes,and for future planning and review ofsustainable development.

Networks — local, national, regional,and global — are the best way forward, asthey promote coordination of resourcesand infrastructure, greatly facilitatesynergy, and maximize the legacy of data.At the beginning of the 21st century, EONputs southern African environmentalresearch on a higher platform.ILTER stimulated discussions and helped bring thesouthern African discussion group together at severalmeetings in Africa, Europe and America. The discus-sions leading to this article were facilitated withfunding from ILTER, the U.S. National Science Foun-dation, the National Research Foundation, and theGesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit(through the Namibian National BiodiversityProgramme). We obtained much information andinspiration from colleagues, in particular Jim Gosz,Bill Michener and Bob Waide (ILTER), Henry Gholzand Alice Leeds (NSF), Daniel Olango, Robin Reidand David Western (Kenya), Thomàs Mucanhia(Moçambique), Phoebe Barnard, Louisa Nakanuku,Lesley Parenzee, Mary Seely, Ben Strohbach andJuliane Zeidler (Namibia), Harold Annegarn, HarryBiggs, Norman Owen-Smith and Wayne Twine(South Africa), Tim Lynam (Zimbabwe), and manyother African and American participants at the 2002ELTOSA workshop.

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network: a first for Africa? S. Afr. J. Sci. 95, 244–245.7. Henschel J.R., Seely M.K. and Zeidler J. (2000).

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8. Seely M.K., Henschel J.R., Zeidler J. andShanyengana E.S.C. (2000). Namib research: itsdevelopment at Gobabeb and implications forNamibia. J. Namibia Sci. Soc. 48, 62–88.

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14. Van Jaarsveld A.S. and Biggs H.C. (2000). Broadparticipation enhances initial steps towards aSouth African ecosystem observatory system(LTER). S. Afr. J. Sci. 96, 63–66.

15. Macdonald I.A.W. and Crawford R.J.M. (1987).Long-term data series relating to southern Africa.S. Afr. Natl Sci. Prog. Rep. 157. CSIR, Pretoria.

16. Henschel J.R. and Pauw J. (2002). Environmentalobservatories: LTER à-la-Africa. In Rebirth ofScience in Africa: A shared Vision for Life and Environ-mental Sciences, eds H. Baijnath and Y. Singh, pp.149–159. Umdaus Press, Pretoria.

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Communication for Science

Jenny Wright

One of the books in a CommunicationSeries published for South African under-graduate students. It received extensivetesting in a technikon environment, withspecific focus on students’ language andlearning needs. Topics covered includereading and writing reports, holding effec-tive meetings, conducting research, using alibrary, and compiling a bibliography. Withglossaries in English, Afrikaans andIsiXhosa, reading lists, and practical exer-cises.Oxford University Press. Pp. 189. R120.ISBN 0 19 578150 3