On 14th November 2022, National Institute of Oceanography, Pakistan conducted a hybrid seminar on “GIS for Ocean” to celebrate the World GIS Day. It was NIO’s first initiative of celebrating Ocean GIS. Distinguished guests from multiple sectors of Ocean Sciences were invited. The program of the seminar was followed as listed in Agenda. Seminar began with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by National Anthem of Pakistan.

Program began with an inclusive talk on Why Geography Matters? By Ms. Afia Salam. Afia stressed on the importance of Geography as Ocean sciences and the inclusivity of geography in all subject matters. She discussed how the tools of geography are our utmost need in order to build a sustainable environment. Ms. Salam shared here experiences of how geography helps to visualize, question, analyze and interpret data to better understand relationships, patterns and trends.

The keynote address was presented by Prof. Dr. Jamil Hassan Kazmi. His presentation expanded over Exploration of unseen with GIS as a power tool. He discussed how GIS has helped in finding solutions to complex problems in not only academia but also in commercial sector. He also shared how GIS helped his team map the green turtle nesting pits on Karachi’s sandy shores. He shared multifarious esri products and resources for Ocean Sciences which can help make better decisions on mesoscales.

Following the plenary address by Dr. Kazmi, the insignia was presented to both the invited guest speakers by Dr. M. M. Rabbani (Ex-Director General NIO). Mr. Khalid Mehmood, a Senior Research Officer at NIO along with Mr. Mohsin Tabrez, Ex-In charge NODC-NIO, shared their story of bringing success home. They presented a story map of marking the blue limits of Pakistan employing GIS in Continental Shelf Extension Program. Mr. Khalid shared the snips of multi-beam surveys conducted to determine the extent of Continental Shelf and explained the workflow of CSE. Following which Mr. Mohsin Tabrez presented the components of Geodatabase created for CSE and explained how GIS was used to extend the limits of Exclusive Economic Zone of Pakistan.

Dr. Ibrahim Zia, Senior Research Officer and Head of GIS and RS Center of Integrated Physical Oceanography Lab (IPOL) at NIO – presented an outline of the use of GIS and RS in monitoring the coastal erosion, sea water intrusion, seal level rise and land subsidence along the Pakistan Coast. He talked about the pressures and threats on coastal Blue Stuff of Pakistan (Assessment on complex and present combined risk scenarios) alongside the multifarious studies of NIO employing GIS. He also touched upon the results of Satellite based estimation of Suspended solids concentrations and spatio temporal shifts in barrier islands of Indus delta. He concluded with a concept note on future of Integrated Physical Oceanography Lab.

The Program was concluded on a lookahead note by Director General, National Institute of Oceanography, Dr. Samina Kidwai. She gave a presentation on Oceanography in NIO – Technologies and tools towards 2040. Dr. Samina gave an overview of geography of Arabian Sea, Pakistan coast, the Exclusive Economic zone and the dynamic oceanographic characteristics. In her presentation she presented NIO’s Vision of 2040 and how NIO is playing its role for Sustainable Ocean environment. Her remarks were centered around the “The Science We Need for the Ocean We Want”.

The Celebrations of GIS day ended with a Question and answers session followed by a small refreshment. The seminar was attended by dignitaries from national institutions, scholars and researchers from academia, and representatives from research organizations. Over 65 participants attended this interactive event which covered 05 presentations

On 8th June, National Institute of Oceanography Pakistan celebrated 14th World Ocean Day on this year’s theme “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean”. Veteran scientist and luminaries of Ocean Sciences from around the world were invited in the hybrid event /seminar to present their talks and share their experiences on the theme of the day.

The proceedings of the day began with the Recitation from The Quran followed by National Anthem of Pakistan. The Seminar included the video message of Dr. Vladimir Ryabinin Executive Secretary, IOC & Assistant Director General, recorded for NIO’s Ocean Day, online presentation by Dr.Patricia Milosovich, Executive Director SCOR on title “The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) Developing Capacity and Advancing Ocean Sciences through International Cooperation Since 1957”. She presented her talk and presentation along with a brief video on the different collective oceanographic programs SCOR has undertaken in which scientists around the globe have participated.

This was followed by a talk by Mr. Muhammad Tahir, Marine Geophysicst on the topic “From Pixels to Picture – Ocean Mapping under Seabed 2030.Prof. Qing He, Professor ENCU & Director SKLEC P.R China spoke on the “Mega-Delta Programme” – an endorsed Programme of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.” Dr. Saima Aijaz ,Research Scientist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Australia presented on “Numerical Models for Ocean Forecasting, Storm surges, Cyclones and Coastal Erosion” focusing on the global Ocean observationsystems. Mr. Justin Ahanhanzo Programme Specialist, IOC UNESCO talked on the “InternationalLiaison and its Value”.

Dignitaries from National Institutions, Scholars and Researchers from the Academia and Research organizations were present at the seminar in person while there was a substantial international audience connected virtually to show solidarity and the value of global actions across sectors.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan approved the appointment of DR. SAMINA KIDWAI as the regular DIRECTOR GENERAL (BS 21) of the National Institute of Oceanography Pakistan. She has taken charge of office on 7th January 2021 for a period of 3 years.

Profile: Professional Marine Sciences (Biological Oceanography) research experience of over 29 years, 24 years at NIO with more than 15+ years of post-doctoral experience. Research interests include Biological Oceanography, (zoo)plankton ecology, bio-physical interactions and coastal deep sea interface and its effects on plankton ecology, food-web dynamics using biomarkers, developing Marine Bio-Geographical Information Systems (Marine BioGIS) for Pakistan and for the Northwest Arabian Sea, island and deltaic ecosystems and the impact/resilience to climatic variability on marine ecosystems, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Member of the NIO team in several international research initiatives and national consultancy projects. Interested in National Capacity Building & Strengthening in Ocean Sciences for Pakistan, and Pakistan preparedness for International programs such as the UN SDG14, Blue Economy, UN OCEAN DECADE program 2021-2030 & IIOE-2. Involvement in International Scientific diplomacy and national coordination for progress in oceanography. Visiting scientist in several countries. Represented Pakistan at several International fora, made oral presentations: Belgium, Bermuda, China, Denmark, India (SAARC), Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Sri-Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America. Private International travels also include- Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UAE, K.S.A. Received YOUNG SCIENTIST CERTIFICATE OF COMMENDATION IHDP, IGBP,WCRP, Washington, USA, Best oral presentation at Islamic Network Oceanographic Commission (INOC), Lebanon; First Prize for best speaker at the SAARC “Training on Multidisciplinary Oceanographic Observation for Coastal Zone Management at Goa, India. Coordinator of two International collaborations of NIO. Currently, Project Director of a Public Sector Development Project, GOP. Has more than 60 scientific publications (scientific journals/peer reviewed with impact factor, recognised, book chapters, project/technical reports, press releases, general interest articles etc.)