CoastAfrica
Partnership for Research and Education for Monitoring Coastal Environments in Africa
Africa’s coastal environments are under increasing pressure from climate change and human activities, resulting in challenges such as coastal erosion, plastic pollution, biological invasion, and ecosystem degradation. Addressing these complex and evolving issues requires advanced monitoring technologies, reliable data, and strong scientific capacity, embedded within education and long‑term international collaboration.
CoastAfrica is an international partnership coordinated by the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) that brings together universities and research institutions in Norway, Ghana, and Tanzania. The project strengthens research‑based education and capacity building in coastal environmental monitoring through hands‑on training, joint supervision of students, and open‑access knowledge sharing.
Our mission
CoastAfrica aims to build long‑term, equitable partnerships between Norwegian and African research and education institutions, while strengthening the link between higher education and applied research in coastal environmental monitoring.
The project focuses on:
- Developing gender‑inclusive education and training
- Integrating cutting‑edge research tools into teaching and field activities
- Supporting early‑ and mid‑career researchers and students
- Creating sustainable collaboration beyond the project period
What we do
CoastAfrica combines education, research, and technology through a set of closely connected activities:
- Co‑developed field and technical courses using open‑access geospatial tools
- Rotating summer schools and field courses in Ghana, Tanzania, and Norway
- Joint supervision of MSc and PhD students across partner institutions
- Guest lectures and academic exchange between Norway and Africa
- Training in research proposal writing and academic publishing
- Development of an open‑access platform for training materials, datasets, and shared knowledge
All activities are designed to ensure practical, hands‑on experience with real coastal data and real environmental challenges.
Monitoring coastal environments
The project applies open‑source geospatial technologies, satellite data, drones, and AI/ML methods to monitor key coastal challenges, including:
- Plastic waste pollution
- Coastal erosion and shoreline change
- Invasive species and biological threats
- Ecosystem degradation driven by climate and land‑use change
By integrating satellite imagery, drone data, and machine‑learning‑based analytics, CoastAfrica addresses monitoring challenges that are difficult to detect using conventional methods alone.
Capacity building and inclusion
A central goal of CoastAfrica is to reduce capacity gaps in advanced environmental monitoring, especially in regions where access to training and digital infrastructure is limited. The project places strong emphasis on:
- Gender inclusion in environmental science and technology
- Supporting early‑ and mid‑career researchers
- Building institutional capacity within partner universities
- Promoting equitable data access, authorship, and collaboration
Partnership and impact
CoastAfrica is built on collaboration between:
- NIBIO – Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana
- Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania
The project contributes directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including:
- SDG 4 – Quality Education
- SDG 9 – Infrastructure, Innovation, and Technology
- SDG 13 – Climate Action
- SDG 14 & 15 – Life Below Water and Life on Land
- SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
Open knowledge for long‑term impact
All training resources, datasets, and selected outputs from CoastAfrica will be made available through this website and associated open platforms, supporting transparency, reproducibility, and long‑term use by students, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.