NRF-SAEON to lead R15-million African ocean forecasting consortium under EU-funded OPERA project

The National Research Foundation’s South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON) has been chosen to lead a new Ocean Forecasting Consortium that will strengthen ocean prediction capabilities across sub-Saharan Africa. The consortium is supported by a R15-million funding allocation and forms part of the European Union-funded Ocean Prediction Enhancement in Regions of Africa (OPERA) project.

The consortium will be led by Dr Jennifer Veitch, Principal Numerical Ocean Modeller at NRF-SAEON, who serves as its Principal Investigator. NRF-SAEON will spearhead regional computational modelling work aimed at improving how African countries forecast ocean conditions, with the goal of supporting coastal resilience and the Blue Economy.

The successful consortia were announced at the annual OPERA workshop, held in Cotonou, Benin, from 12 to 14 October 2026. The workshop brought together African and European partners, regional bodies, organisations and technical assistance partners.

As lead organisation, NRF-SAEON will coordinate institutional partners from across the continent: the South African Weather Service, the University of Ghana, the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) and the Department for Continental Shelf and Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration in Mauritius. NRF-SAEON’s Ulwazi node, led by Leo Chiloane, will support the data management aspects of the project.

OPERA is implemented by Mercator Ocean International and serves as the ocean component of the Africa Regional Centres of Excellence for the Green Transition (ArcX) programme. It runs from 2025 to 2029 and aims to build African capacity in ocean prediction. The project aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Africa Blue Economy Strategy, the Ocean Decade Africa Roadmap and the EU Global Gateway Strategy.

Alongside the forecasting consortium, OPERA supports two application-focused consortia. One is led by the University of Ghana and is developing decision-support systems for storm surges, inundation and coastal planning. The other is led by South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and focuses on marine pollution tracking, oil spill monitoring and tsunami impact modelling.