Divisions:
KFD
ACEP is a flagship programme of the DST and NRF, initiated to provide infrastructure and associated funding support for ecosystem research centred on coelacanths. The initiative was triggered by the discovery of this rare species off Sodwana Bay, South Africa but the scope has since extended beyond coelacanths.
Being one of the first multi-disciplinary, multi-national research programmes to conduct extensive ecosystem based research in the South West Indian Ocean, ACEP forms the South African component of the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems (ASCLME) Project which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Through its research infrastructure platform (ship time, remote operated vehicles, dive teams etc.) ACEP provides in-kind contribution to the ASCLME project which spans along the east coast of Africa.
The programme is managed by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) which is a National Facility of the NRF. Other national stakeholders involved in the programme include DAFF, DEA and SAEON. With funding from DST ACEP has recently put out an open research call for new proposals for a three year funding cycle, from 2012 - 2014.
For more information please contact Dr Achuo Enow (Programme Director: Global Change) at a.enow@nrf.ac.za