The Nigerian Navy is to join the United Nations in celebrating the 2023 World Hydrography Day on June 21.

The force also reiterated its commitment to providing policymakers with valuable insights for sustainable management of the nation’s waterways.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, represented by Naval Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Saidu Garba, noted that this year’s celebration aims at sensitising Nigerians on importance of the global event.

According to him, the significance of hydrography in sustenance of the marine sector cannot be over-emphasised, hence the need to tap into the theme of this year’s celebration, “Hydrography – underpinning the digital twin of the ocean,” for improved knowledge of the sector in providing the needed information for sustainable ocean management and development.

He said: “The objective of this briefing is to highlight the activities lined up for celebration of the 2023 World Hydrography Day in Nigeria.”

“As you are all aware, hydrography is simply the science that measures and describes the physical features of the earth’s water bodies and adjoining coastal areas. You will recall that last year’s World Hydrography Day focused on the contributions of hydrography to the United Nations Decade of the Ocean.

“During the plenary session of the 2022 event, we discussed extensively on how the science of hydrography could be used to find solution to the failing health of the world’s ocean, particularly Nigeria’s part of the world’s ocean. As a follow-up to this conversation, the 2023 World Hydrography Day will focus on one of the applications of hydrographic datasets towards sustainable management and use of the ocean. This is aptly captured in the theme for the Day.”

Gambo added: “Digital Twin of the Ocean is a near real-time and future digital representation of the physical, chemical, biological and socio-economical dimensions of the ocean to facilitate well-informed decisions for effective ocean governance. As you already know, the ocean is everything to us.

“It sustains life, provides food, energy, recreation and jobs for us. Unfortunately, overexploitation, loss of biodiversity and habitats, pollution, marine littering and climate change issues, among others are threatening the sustainable development of the ocean.

“It is increasingly becoming difficult for policymakers to guarantee the use of ocean resources in a way that meets the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Hence, by producing the digital twin of the ocean, multiple stakeholders, including government agencies, fishing communities, environmentalists, and corporate organisations, who have competing interests and goals within the ocean, can be aware of the importance of sustainable ocean development and, consequently, take appropriate actions.

“Through digital twins, policymakers obtain valuable insights into the current state and future projections of ocean ecosystems and the human activities that impact them. This information helps policy makers to evolve a more equitable and sustainable ocean management strategies that support the coexistence of multiple stakeholders in the same ocean space, thereby facilitating healthy communication and collaboration that promote sustainable use of ocean resources.”