GROUP ON EARTH OBSERVATIONS

GEO

5 June 2008 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Ms. Marta ANGOLOTI mangoloti@inm.es Co-chair of the Capacity Building Committee

SPAIN

U.S. Department of State, Washington DC July 31, 2003

GEO, the Group on Earth Observations

An Intergovernmental Organization with 73 Member Countries, the European Commission and 52 Participating Organizations

GEO Membership evolution (as at november 2007)

The Earth is a complex system of systemsSurface, atmosphere, sub-surface and their

interaction

• Any Single Problem Requires Many Data Sets

• A Single Data Set Will Serve Many Communities

• A great number of Observing Systems of different nature and with different purposes

There is a Need to coordinate observations and to Share all Earth Observation Data in Standard Interoperable Formats.

GEOSS: A Global, Coordinated, Comprehensive andSustained System of Observing Systems

GEOSS will be built from the expansion and interlinking of existing observation and information systems and the investments of Members and Participating Organizations in new systems

1. Reduction and Prevention of Disasters2. Human Health and Epidemiology3. Energy Management

4. Climate Variability & Change5. Water Management6. Weather Forecasting7. Ecosystems8. Agriculture9. Biodiversity

GEOSS addresses Nine Societal Benefit Areas

• Data and Products at Minimum Time delay and Minimum Cost

• Free of Charge or Cost of Reproduction for Research and Education

GEO Data Sharing Principles

• Full and Open Exchange of Data…Recognizing Relevant International Instruments and National Policies and Legislation

How GEO works

• Coordinating activities of Members and Participating Organisations

• Supporting the development of capabilities for Observations, Processing and Information Dissemination

• Encouraging cross-cutting approaches

The GEO implementation tool is the Workplan

The GEO Workplan

To address targets of the Implementation Plan and track relevant progress, the main tool is a Workplan, approved every year by the GEO Plenary.

The Plan is structured in tasks encompassing all the SBA’s and the transverse areas leading to the progressive definition and implementation of GEOSS

Current Workplan is the 2007-2009, available at GEO website http://www.earthobservations.org/

• 10-Year Plan Endorsed by 2005 Ministerial Summit

• Plenary (co-chaired by RSA, EC, USA and PRC)

• Executive Committee

(12 Members)• Four Standing Committees (*)• Executive Secretariat

(Geneva)

GEO Governance

- Architecture and Data- Capacity Building- Science and Technology- User Interface

(*)

Infrastructure CB: HW, SW and other technology required to develop, access and use EO…

Individuals (Human) CB: education and training of individuals to be aware of, access, use and develop EO…

Institutional CB: building policies, programs & organizational structures in governments and organizations to enhance the understanding of the value of EO…

…data and products.

Capacity building in GEO

I³

GEO Secretariat

Analyze & Interpret

Inte

gra

te &

Use

Access & Retrieve

Con

trib

ute

An END 2 END Approach to building capacity for

GEO Secretariat

Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil (co-chair), Canada, China, Croatia, Egypt, European Commission (co-chair), France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Portugal, Russia, South Africa (co-chair), Spain (co-chair), Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan.

AARSE, APN, CEOS, EEA, EIS-Africa, EUMETSAT, EuroGeoSurveys, FDSN, GCOS, IAG, IEEE, IGBP, IOC, ITC, ISCGM, ISPRS, POGO, UNEP, UNESCO (co-chair), UNOOSA, WCRP (START), WMO

Membership

• Relies on the Goodwill of Members and Participating Organizations

• Efficient for Contribution of Components

• Not a Funding Mechanism

GEOSS Implementation is a Non-binding, Voluntary Process

Thank you for your attention