International

ICAN is a project of UNESCO IOC´s IODE Programme, and ICAN members seek to play a leadership role in forging international collaborations of value to the participating nations, thereby optimizing regional governance in coastal zone management and marine spatial planning.

Coastal

We live on a blue planet, with oceans and seas that cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface. The oceans feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen we breathe. Approximately 37% of the world's population lives within 100 km of the coast. (UNEP)

Atlas

CWAs are "...collections of digital maps and datasets with supplementary tables, illustrations, & information that systematically illustrate the coast, oftentimes with cartographic & decision support tools, all of which are accessible via the Internet."  O'Dea et al., 2007

Network

Membership in ICAN is open to all interested parties who agree to the mission & objectives of ICAN, including those with an operational coastal web atlas, as well as those hoping to design and build a coastal web atlas in the future.

Join us!

ICAN 7: Cape Town, South Africa

The 7th workshop for the International Coastal Atlas Network was held in Cape Town, South Africa on 19-20 April 2015. The focus was presentations on the theme Coastal Web Atlases – Supporting Ecosystem Based Management with a special emphasis on ICAN activities in Africa.

 
Participants at ICAN 7 in Cape Town, South Africa


Two mini-workshops were also held:

  • Connecting Atlases – Implementing Semantic Interoperability and Data Accessibility Self-Assessment, and

  • Interacting with Users


The 2nd Session of the ICAN Steering Group for IODE was held after the workshop. The final report from ICAN 7 will appear in the next issue of this newsletter.


A view of Cape Town looking south across Table Bay. Photo: A. Sherin

ICAN 6 : British Columbia

Ned Dwyer & Kathrin Kopke

The 6th ICAN workshop, entitled Expanding Participation in Coastal Web Atlas Development and Use was hosted by the University of Victoria, Canada on 16-17 June 2013.



Participants in ICAN 6


Dr. Rosaline Canessa and her team in the Department of Geography welcomed over 30 ICAN workshop participants to the beautiful UVic campus, offering traditional British Columbia hospitality during our stay. It was great to meet friends and colleagues who have been contributing to ICAN for a number of years and it was extremely encouraging to see new faces and make new connections over the two days.


In addition to establishing formally the IODE ICAN Project Steering Group and developing and consolidating elements of the work plan for 2013 to 2015, the workshop was conducted under a number of thematic sessions. 

  • Coastal Atlas Training Needs and Opportunities
  • Building Synergies with IOC projects & related Initiatives \
  • Atlas Stories and Progress in expanding the network (focus on Eastern Pacific)
  • Adding your Atlas to the International Web Atlas Portal
  • Data Integration Platforms (including volunteered geographical information)

In the vibrant discussion that took place in the formal sessions as well as in some of Victoria’s many restaurants and bars; it became clear that the skills and expertise of ICAN members are of great relevance in the development of coastal information systems. Taking advantage of such capacity and knowledge to not only progress ICAN objectives but also assist other relevant IOC initiatives including the Integrated Coastal Area Management programme and reaching out to activities outside of IOC such as those of the Coastal Zone Community of Practice of GEO have emerged as ICAN priorities in the coming months and years. The participation of  Hans-Peter Plag of CZCP resulted in an invitation for ICAN to participate in the next meeting of the CZCP that was held in College Park, Maryland on 27-28 August 2013.

All the workshop presentations can be found at http://ican.science.oregonstate.edu/en/ican6_prog  and a full workshop report will be published later in 2013.

  For our Coasts

Vol, 8, Nr 2 - Now Available!

We are now entering our 9th year publishing the ICAN newsletter. Many thanks to our Editor Andy Sherin!

Please consider preparing an article for the next newsletter that will likely be published in the spring of this year.

Happy New Year!

Photos from CoastGIS 2018

Our friends from CoastGIS 2018 have posted a wonderful gallery of photos, including the recent ICAN mini-workshop:

See how many ICAN members you can spot!