UNESCO Ambassador Vishal Sharma visits INCOIS, backs dedicated ocean observation satellite

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO in Paris, Vishal V. Sharma visited the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) here and supported the idea of developing a dedicated space satellite for ocean observation for the region, along with expanding training opportunities for young researchers in the field.

He reviewed its SynOps Lab (Synergistic Ocean Observation and Prediction System), which provides tsunami early warning and ocean forecasts for India as well as countries across the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Islands. Later, he addressed INCOIS scientists after being briefed on the institute’s functions and initiatives by director T. M. Balakrishnan Nair and senior scientists Pattabhi Ramarao and Sudhir Joseph.

INCOIS serves as the nodal agency for tsunami early warning and disaster risk reduction preparedness. It also functions as a Regional Tsunami Service Provider and an International Training Centre under UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Established in 1960, UNESCO’s IOC is the only UN body with an exclusive mandate for ocean science, promoting international cooperation in oceanography and transforming scientific knowledge into services that safeguard lives, livelihoods, and the marine environment. Mr.Sharma was also instrumental in coordinating last month’s visit of Vidar Helgesen, IOC Head at UNESCO and former Foreign Minister of Norway, to INCOIS, a press release said.