Effective monitoring of marine biodiversity remains a significant challenge across many African coastal regions due to limited observation infrastructure, fragmented datasets, and resource constraints. Emerging digital technologies offer new opportunities to expand biodiversity observations while improving the accessibility and scalability of monitoring systems. The African Ocean Biodiversity Atlas (AOBA), an endorsed United Nations Ocean Decade Action coordinated by Ocean Rock Base and implemented through the Africa Ocean Alliance, is developing a technology-enabled biodiversity observation network to address these challenges.

The platform integrates artificial intelligence, geospatial technologies, mobile data collection applications, cloud-based databases, and citizen science approaches to support biodiversity monitoring across Africa’s coastal and marine ecosystems. Local communities, fishers, researchers, students, and conservation practitioners contribute georeferenced observations, imagery, videos, and environmental information through digital tools designed to operate in data-limited environments.

Currently operating across more than 20 African countries with over 800 active users, AOBA supports the documentation of fisheries biodiversity, marine habitats, blue carbon ecosystems, and coastal ecological conditions. AI-assisted workflows are being explored to support species identification, image classification, biodiversity mapping, and data quality improvement, while interoperable data systems facilitate integration with broader ocean data and biodiversity information networks.

The initiative demonstrates how emerging technologies can complement traditional monitoring approaches by increasing spatial coverage, improving data accessibility, and enabling near real-time biodiversity observations. By combining digital innovation with local ecological knowledge, the platform contributes to the development of scalable and inclusive biodiversity monitoring systems for underrepresented coastal regions.

This presentation highlights the technical architecture, implementation experience, and future opportunities for integrating AI-driven biodiversity analytics into community-based ocean observation networks, providing a model for strengthening marine biodiversity monitoring across the Global South.