Region: Africa/Middle East
http://www.netwise.drfn.org.na/Na-LTER.html
Introduction
The Namibian Long-Term Ecological Research Network (Na-LTER) was formed in August 1999 as the first national LTER network in Africa. This followed planning since 1993 in consultation with the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER - http://www.ilternet.edu/). Na-LTER became the nineteenth member of ILTER. This document describes the characteristics of Na-LTER, as accepted at a workshop attended by 29 representatives of 16 environmental institutions on the 24th February 2000 in Windhoek.
Namibian Environment
“Namibia is one of the world’s driest countries, skirted by the Namib and Kalahari Deserts and desiccated by the interplay of winds off the cold Atlantic and the hot southern African basin. It is therefore a nation with unusual and impressive habitats and species, many of them unique to the country or to the southernmost African arid zone. (...) Namibia faces significant fundamental environmental constraints which it cannot ignore. Its annual rainfall is modest and highly variable, the more so the further west one travels. This has not only shaped a range of extraordinary arid-adapted ecological communities, but has also powerfully shaped the human development options of the modern Namibia”. p.4 In: Phoebe Barnard (ed.) (1998) Biological diversity in Namibia: a country study. Namibian National Biodiversity Task Force.
The population of Namibia is 1.6 million in a land area of 824 000 km2 covering desert biomes, savanna, and broadleaf woodland. Annual rainfall ranges from 0 mm along the west coast of the Namib to over 700 mm in the eastern extremes of the Caprivi Strip. A relatively small research community working in government institutions, the University and Polytechnic, as well as non-government organisations, is supplemented by visiting scientists from abroad. Environmental research is dominated by implications of aridity in terms of hydrology (e.g. variability and prediction), biodiversity (e.g. endemism), tolerance of extreme conditions (e.g. hyperthermia, water balance) and socio-economics (e.g. desertification, sustainable natural resource management, knowledge transfer). Extraordinary features include one of the richest oceans of the world, strong climatic gradients from west to east and south to north, high concentrations of endemic species along the western escarpment and nearby Inselbergs, as well as high species richness of tenebrionid beetles and lichens (>200 species each) in the most arid parts of the country. Due to their scarcity, wetlands form focal points for resources in this dry country.
Na-LTER Goal
Na-LTER endeavours to facilitate enlightened environmental management in Namibia
Purpose
All Na-LTER partners have increased capacity to provide, access, understand and use long-term ecological data and information in Namibia
Objectives
The Na-LTER endeavours to:
1. Establish and have a functional Na-LTER network
2. Identify, promote and facilitate the appropriate operation of Na-LTER sites
3. Facilitate environmental monitoring and analyses of long-term and large-scale processes
4. Establish, operate and maintain a comprehensive MetaDatabase
5. Connect Na-LTER with partner networks
6. Identify and ensure input and collaboration from partners, including local resource managers, decision-makers and students
7. Formulate funding strategies and secure funding for Na-LTER, and facilitate funding of LTER in Namibia.
The Network
The Na-LTER network comprises Namibian research institutions and individuals willing to contribute to the network’s goal, purpose and objectives. The network is co-ordinated by the Na-LTER committee, a working group of the Namibian National Biodiversity Task Force (BDTF). The BDTF, housed at Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, is a forum of government institutions, NGOs and individuals
http://www.dea.met.gov.na/Programmes/Biodiversity/Biodiversity/WorkingGroups.html.
The BDTF is co-ordinated by Dr. Phoebe Barnard (pb@dea.met.gov.na) at the Directorate of Environmental Affairs.
Secretariat
Na-LTER and Gobabeb LTER: Dr. Joh Henschel, Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, P.O.Box 20232, Windhoek, Namibia. Tel: +264-61-229855; Fax: +264-61-230172; Email: jhenschel@drfn.org.na.
Na-LTER Committee
The committee comprises Na-LTER network members willing to and capable of driving the LTER process forward in Namibia. Responsibilities of the committee include planning, drafting recommendations, developing network guidelines, organising meetings, representation and promotion nationally and internationally, identifying partners and soliciting collaboration, managing network activities (e.g. MetaDatabase), and drafting proposals for funding of such. The six current members joined the committee on a consultative basis.
Web Site
The web site http://www.netwise.drfn.org.na/Na-LTER.html contains information on the Na-LTER network, member institutions, and field sites, as well as the Na-LTER MetaDatabase.
Membership
Sharing of environmental data with long-term perspectives (existing or potential) is the fundamental criterion of a Na-LTER member institution. Most environmental data with time and place coordinates have potential for LTER. Representation of information on (potentially) long-term data by an institution in the MetaDatabase serves as evidence of sharing.
Funding
Namibia has no national research funding or brokering agency equivalent to a national science foundation or academy of sciences. Furthermore, several important research institutions are non-government organisations (NGO). Funding for research and networking therefore needs to come from outside Namibia, not from Africa. The only way to achieve this is through collaboration with foreign scientists and by attracting relevant partners and donors. Research-related outreach and immediate application of research in the context of a developing country provides importance, relevance and good opportunities to funders for meaningful support.
Field Sites
The multi-tier scale approach of GTOS (Global Terrestrial Observing System) serves as guideline to identify the type of field site. The Na-LTER network includes sites with:
1. A primary ecosystem-based research and training programme (tier 2) at the Gobabeb Training and Research Centre, where LTER is conducted across the Namib Desert by the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (Gobabeb is a designated national LTER site; http://www.drfn.org/Gobabeb.html)
2. Long-term monitoring programmes (tier 3) at national park (Etosha Ecological Institute), agricultural, forestry and university research stations (Na-LTER sites to be identified by network member institutions)
3. Research projects and monitoring activities with long-term perspectives not directly affiliated to an on-site research station (tier 4), such as parks, reserves, and conservancies, weather stations, hydrological monitoring points, coastal and other wetlands, river catchments, the Eastern National Water Carrier, Inselbergs, Napcod desertification study sites, Sardep agricultural study sites, Rehoboth Acacia Forest, and Polytechnic field sites (Na-LTER sites to be identified by network member institutions)
4. Other regional or site-specific data shared through the Na-LTER network, such as socio-economic monitoring by Nepru (Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit), livestock censuses by Veterinary Services, wildlife censuses by Division of Specialist Support Services, runoff and groundwater monitoring by Department of Water Affairs (Na-LTER sites to be identified by network member institutions)
MetaDatabase
The MetaDatabase on the Na-LTER website is a core facility of the Na-LTER network. The MetaDatabase is managed by Netwise, a project of the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia. Netwise integrates information on environmental institutions throughout the SADC region. The MetaDatabase contains information on data relating to long-term ecological research by Na-LTER member institutions in Namibia. This enables institutions and researchers to obtain information on existing data including how it can be accessed.
Data Sharing Policy
The Na-LTER data sharing policy is that:
1. Information on data must be made available to the Metadatabase as soon as possible;
2. Long-term maintenance of the MetaDatabase is assured;
3. Unrestricted data are made directly available via the internet in a MegaDatabase;
4. Other data listed in the MetaDatabase are conditionally available to users;
5. Completely restricted data are exceptional, reasons for restriction must be given, and information on the data should still be listed in the MetaDatabase;
6. Data are free of charge besides cost recovery for providing data;
7. Documentation and format of data, including method of collection and considerations for interpretation, should be user-friendly and enable others to use the data;
8. Institutions must ensure that data are available even if the investigator is transferred or dies;
9. Data is not distributed further by the recipient, except with substantial value addition+;
10. Investigators have first opportunity to publish data within a “reasonable” period of time*;
11. Data sources are adequately acknowledged;
12. Data source institutions receive copies of resulting publications.
+ extent of value addition to constitute a difference needs to be agreed upon with the original data provider
* for post-graduate university students this encompasses the project period; for researchers, the period will be agreed upon