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Opportunities for GEO & GCOS

Rob KoopmanGEO Secretariat

6th GCOS CooperationMechanism BoardWMO – 27/09/2010

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U.S. Department of State, Washington DCJuly 31, 2003

GEO, the Group on Earth ObservationsAn Intergovernmental Organization with 82 Members

and 58 Participating Organizations

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… to answer Society’s need for informed decision making

Coordinate and Sustain Observation Systems

Provide Easier & More Open Data Access

Foster Use through Science, Applications and Capacity Building

GEOSS - Global Earth Observation System of Systems…

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A Global, Coordinated, Comprehensive and Sustained System of Observing Systems

GEOSS

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GEO Strategic Target on Climate:Achieve effective and sustained operation of the global climate observing system and reliable delivery of climate information of a quality needed for predicting, mitigating and adapting to climate variability and change, including for better understanding of the global carbon cycle.• the full implementation of the Global Climate Observing System as the climate

observing component of GEOSS, …., including closure of critical gaps, to ensure the availability of all the climate and climate-related observations needed to support GEOSS;

• promotion of data sharing as well as coordination of data management and exchange systems;

• contributions to major advances in the monitoring and prediction of climate on seasonal, interannual and decadal time scales, including the occurrence of extreme events;

• strengthened GCOS support for the assessment role of the IPCC and the policy development role of the UNFCCC;

• enhanced efforts for data rescue and digitization.

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GEO & GCOS: a consistent message• GCOS, WMO, IOC, ICSU and UNEP are GEO

Participating Organisations• Large overlap between GEO Members (81 countries

+ European Union), WMO Members (183), ISCU National Members (121), UN Member States (192), IOC Member States (138)

Consistency of the “messages” broadcast by these initiatives is not “nice to have”, …… it is MANDATORY for credibility

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GEO & GCOS: a consistent message (2)• The GEO 10-Year Plan represents the consensus of its Members

and Participating Organisations on the way forward in Global Earth Observations

• GEOSS is effectively built from in-kind contributions from its Members and Participating Organisations, which are aligned towards the common objectives 10-Year Plan.

• The alignment is facilitated by a matrix of concerted actions (SBA and cross-cutting tasks”) and associated targets to focus international collaboration and harmonisation: the GEO Work Plan.

• Increasingly, the objectives of the 10-year plan and the Tasks in the Work Plan are used as requirements for funded government tenders (European Commissions 7th Framework Programme)

A Consistent “message” pays off, literally

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GEO advantage• GEO as a group is modelled on a lean and flat

governance model: a Ministerial Summit, and a Plenary (supported by its Executive Committee).

• Short path to decision making• Very high political leverage

GEO,A “tool” worth using!

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Dual use of this tool

to convince

to implement

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Convince

• The IGOS – P themes have been integrated into GEOSS (Communities of Practice) because the access to high-level governance was considered an opportunity.

• In the run up to Beijing 2010, the Data Sharing Task Force (DSTF) formulated an Action Plan for Governments, Participating Organisations and GEOSS as a whole.

DSTF: Example of success in applying the political leverage

Post IGOS-P “gap closing”: needs further work

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Convince (2)The road to Data Sharing success cannot easily be copied ‘as

is’: the DSTF acted on a specific mandate from Plenary, in response to the Cape Town Summit Declaration, and the task force has broad participation.

Nevertheless it can be worthwhile to work along a similar path.

For example: sustaining observation systems is also explicitly mentioned in Cape Town declaration. The equivalent of the DSFT Action Plan could be a priorities and actions statement (including indirect actions) for sustaining networks at risk. GCOS (and GTOS, GOOS) already have related objectives in their individual terms of reference.

Could a broad, concerted action within the flat GEO environment achieve more than the individual programmes?

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Implement: The GEO Work Plan (1)• The Final update of the 2009-2011 GEO Work Plan has been

submitted for endorsement at the GEO-VII Plenary in Beijing• The next GEO Work Plan will cover 2012-2015. Ministerial

Summits are scheduled for (2010,) 2013 and 2015. The end of this Work Plan period also marks the due date for achieving the GEOSS Strategic Targets. Drafting starts ‘now’

For GCOS (and WMO, ICSU, UNEP, IOC, but also WCRP,

GOOS, GTOS, and other POs and Members and the wider Climate community) ->

The GEO 2012-2015 Work Plan ->Communicating the Consistent Message

on the way forward

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GEO Work Plan (2)• Apart from Political Leverage, working “within (the) GEO (Work

Plan)” also provides benefits in terms of: • cross-cutting support functions:

– Vast momentum for Data Sharing– Data Management & Architecture, Quality

Assurance, Harmonisation, Integration• broad platforms:

– Integration of Carbon Observations– Carbon Community of Practice– Forest Carbon Tracking Initiative

Use GEOSS to optimise Efforts/Benefits Ratio

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Conclusions1) Optimise the 2012-2015 Work Plan to achieve GEOSS benefit:

– Revisit task deliverables in the light of the Strategic Target(s)– Revisit tasks and interaction with communities to ensure

consistency throughout the climate domain, – Revisit task descriptions with new contributors in mind

2) lead/initiate new actions within GEOSS, extracting further benefits, e.g.:– Seek allies for a concerted high-level action on sustaining

(endangered) networks, starting with the GxOSses and their sponsors

– Promote independent peer review as fundamental component of GEOSS data management

3) Connect to the cross-cutting functions and other initiatives– E.g. use GEOSS architecture and data sharing initiatives to work

towards the “promotion of data sharing as well as coordination of data management and exchange systems”

– Capacity Building and programmes involving trainings in Africa

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Thank you!

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GEOSS for AFRICA: examples

GEONETCast, CBERS, SERVIR, Sand and Dust Storm Warning System, AEGOS, Wildland Fire Early Warning System, Puma, AMESD and GMES Africa, BIOTA, TIGER, SoDa, MERIT, African Protected Areas, ClimDev Africa, ChlorOGIN, etc etc.

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• Data and Products at Minimum Time delay and Minimum Cost

• Free of Charge or minimal Cost for Research and Education

GEO Data Sharing Principles

• Full and Open Exchange of Data, recognizing Relevant International Instruments and National Policies

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“GEO Model”

ContributedActivitiesContributed

ActivitiesContributed

ActivitiesContributed

ActivitiesContributed

Activities

GEOSS Common InfrastructureStandards and InteroperabilityData Sharing GuidelinesTransverse activities

High-level visibility

HarmonisationCollaboration

10yr Plan

VoluntaryConsensus-based