Colocando o treinamento em prática: um programa de monitoramento global da rede de ex-alunos

The ocean benefits humankind by producing half of the global oxygen supply, absorbing a significant portion of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and providing us with food, transportation, and a means of livelihood. Nevertheless, human activities have been making the global ocean more acidic, warmer, and lower in oxygen (IPCC, 2021). Such changes and their impacts on ecosystems are highly variable, particularly in coastal areas where exchanges with the atmosphere and the land are more pronounced. The capacity to collect ocean observations is insufficient in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries (IOC-UNESCO, 2020). This is linked not only to a dearth of funding and instrumentation but also to a lack of scientific personnel with the capacity to collect, analyze, and interpret oceanographic data. The Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO) runs capacity development programs whose objectives are to develop key skills, capabilities, and capacities needed for worldwide ocean observations, and to nurture new generations of experts and leaders in ocean affairs (see Urban and Seeyave, 2021). Since 2004, the partnership between POGO and the Nippon Foundation (NF) has offered an extensive array of training programs to nearly 500 early career scientists from 74 countries, mainly with emerging economies. The NF-POGO Alumni Network for the Ocean (NANO) was created in 2010 as a means to keep track of trainees’ career progressions, maximize the benefits from the training received, and provide further opportunities for networking and collaboration. One of NANO’s major goals is to promote joint research activities among its members, ultimately applying ocean observations for societal benefit.