Directors

Dr. Ing. Alfonse M. Dubi Associate Professor and Director Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) in Zanzibar University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel.: +255 24 223 2128 Email:
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General

Under Dr. Dubi's leadership IMS in Zanzibar has become an Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) focal point, a GEF/World Bank Eastern Africa Center of Excellence of the Coral Reef Targeted Research and Capacity Building for Management (CRTR) Program, and the lead institution of the Western Indian Ocean Regional Initiative. An overall top priority for IMS and several oceanographic institutions in the East African region has become the modeling of marine and coastal physical, ecological, and biological processes. This priority emerged during a series of leadership workshops in the East African region co-organized by IOC that started in 2005 (reports of the workshops in 2005 and 2006 and IOC Capacity Development Documents some of which document the follow-ups of these workshops).

Since then Dr. Dubi has focused on capacity development in coastal modeling at IMS by joining or initiating the major partnerships above and by additional efforts such as sending a research staff member to study in a Master's program at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, developing three new postgraduate courses on marine and coastal oceanography at the University of Dar es Salaam, and purchasing fast computers and oceanographic instruments. His initiatives represent major contributions to the Zanzibar Project.

Responsibilities

As director of IMS in Zanzibar, Dr. Dubi helps define the specific research and training initiatives of the Zanzibar Project to optimize their contribution to capacity development in coastal modeling at IMS. He also ensures that the visiting US students and all other visitors associated with the Zanzibar Project integrate well at IMS, work closely with IMS research staff, have adequate resources, ranging from accommodation for the visitors to a research boat. Dr. Dubi is also contributing to maintaining the existing partnerships, especially in the East African region, and forging new ones.