IPO International Activities
IPO International Activities
In addition to supporting international activities across NOS, IPO is engaged with global partners to fulfill the international mission of NOAA. IPO works with other NOS program and staff offices to carry out this mission and focuses on coastal and watershed management, coral reef conservation, ocean observations and climate change issues.
China Cooperative Program
This program is a component of the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (1979) and was established in 1998 as a result of recommendations from the White House-Chinese State Council calling for bilateral engagement in coastal and marine management.
Coral Reef Conservation
IPO collaborates with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program to support two major international coral grant initiatives. IPO manages the NOAA International Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program, which supports the development of coral conservation and management strategies and their application in the field.
Watershed Management
NOAA and the Secretariat of the Global Program of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (UNEP/GPA) entered into an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in March 2004 at the White Water to Blue Water Conference in Miami.
Ocean Observations (IOC)
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) is a key international partner in U.S. efforts to understand and predict change in the Earth’s environment and to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources.
Japan Cooperative Program
This program was established by NOS in 1996 under the US-Japan Cooperative Program in Natural Resources (UJNR). Approximately 50 U.S. and Japanese scientists meet biennially to report research results and discoveries related to the coastal environment.
Korea Cooperative Program
This program was established by NOS with the support of the previous NOAA Administrator, Dr. D. James Baker, in 2000. Since then, NOS/IPO has provided program oversight and promoted a cooperative program that involves five of NOAA’s line offices and representing an annual transfer of funds from Korea of approximately $350K on average.
Adaptation to Climate Change
IPO has collaborated with CARICOM and the Caribbean Climate Change Center to support implementation of the Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) project. The purpose of the MACC is to create an enabling environment for adaptation to climate change by governments in the English speaking countries of the Caribbean.
MPA Networks
The World Summit on Sustainable Development, the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the G8 group of Nations have all called for establishing a global system of MPA networks by the year 2012.
Vietnam Cooperative Program
The U.S. State Department has provided sponsorship to NOAA to build capacity for integrated coastal management in the coastal provinces of Quang Ninh and Haiphong. The Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site is located in Quang Ninh province. This project supports the marine sciences working group of the U.S.-Vietnam Science and Technology Agreement.
World Heritage Program
IPO through its partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Center seeks to advance the representation of marine areas to Convention. This is achieved through a five-year partnership with the Center to develop a marine program and to cultivate complementary synergies with other conservation-relevant conventions and programs within UNESCO.