Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS Steering Committee 4th Session
&
Antonio Bombelli – GTOS Sec
GTOS & GEO
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a
global initiative to coordinate national and
international efforts in environmental monitoring.
GEO is a voluntary partnership of governments
and international organizations and provides a
framework within which its partners can develop
new projects and coordinate their strategies and
investments.
GTOS & GEO
The GEO implementation plan is conceived to
build GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System
of Systems) by contributing to the 9 GEO Societal
Benefit Areas (SBAs):
1. Disasters
2. Health
3. Energy
4. Climate
5. Water
6. Weather
7. Ecosystems
8. Agriculture
9. Biodiversity
GTOS & GEO
Currently GTOS is involved in 16 tasks/subtasks of
the last GEO 2009-2011 WorkPlan, addressing 4
out of the 9 GEO SBAs:
Climate (4)
Ecosystems (2)
Disasters (2)
Biodiversity (1)
GTOS role in GEO Tasks: an overview
Task/Subtask
Title
AR-09-03a
Global Terrestrial Observations
Level of
involvement
Leader & POC
DA-09-03a
Global Land Cover
Leader & POC
CL-09-03b
DI-09-03b
Leader
Leader
EC-09-01c
Carbon Tracking
Implementation of a Fire Warning System
at Global Level
Regional Networks for Ecosystems
US-09-03b
Forest Mapping and Change Monitoring
Leader
AR-09-01a
AR-09-01c
AR-09-02a
BI-07-01a
CB-09-03a
AR-09-03c
CL-09-03a
DA-09-01b
DI-06-09
Enabling Deployment of a GEOSS Architecture
GEOSS Best Practices Registry
Virtual Constellations
Biodiversity Observation Network
Building National and Regional Capacity
Global Ocean Observation System
Integrated Global Carbon Observation (IGCO)
Data, Metadata and Products Harmonisation
Use of Satellites for Risk Management
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
Contributor
EC-09-01a
Ecosystem Classification and Mapping
Contributor
Leader
GTOS and
panels involved
GTOS Secretariat
TCO and TOPC
GOFC-GOLD
GTOS Sec
GTOS Sec
GOFC-GOLD
GTOS Sec
GOFC-GOLD
GTOS Sec
GOFC-GOLD
TCO, GTOS Sec
GTOS Sec
GTOS Sec
GOFC-GOLD
B-GTOS
GOFC-GOLD
C-GTOS
TCO
GTOS Sec
GOFC-GOLD
GTOS Sec
GTOS Sec
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
AR-09-03a: Global Terrestrial Observations
This task aims at developing intergovernmental
mechanisms to coordinate terrestrial observations
needed for climate studies and forecasting.
UNFCCC/SBSTA encouraged GTOS to implement
a joint framework mechanism on terrestrial
observing systems for climate. Reports on 13
Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) in the
terrestrial domain were published and submitted
by GTOS to the 30th Session of SBSTA (June
2009).
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
AR-09-03c: Global Ocean Observation System
This task aims at enhancing and improving the
coordination of ocean observations and modelling
initiatives. C-GTOS is in the steering committee of
the GEO Coastal Zone Community of Practice,
designed to bridge observations of the land and
sea components of the coast.
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
DA-09-03a: Global Land Cover
GOFC-GOLD is contributing with a technical
sourcebook on and procedures for monitoring
measuring and reporting on reducing GHG
emissions from deforestation and degradation in
developing countries (REDD) in support of the
UNFCCC process.
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
CL-09-03a: Integrated Global Carbon Observation
(IGCO)
This task supports the
development of improved
global carbon observing
networks. GTOS contributed
to the initiation of the GEO
Carbon Community of Practice
and to the writing of the GEO
Carbon Report for an
integrated global carbon
observations strategy.
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
Task CL-09-03b: Forest Carbon Tracking
This task is instrumental for the post-Kyoto
climate-change mitigation agreements. GOFCGOLD formulate validation procedures and
accuracy assessment for the remote sensing of
forest area and carbon stock estimates.
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
DI-09-03b: Implementation of a Fire Warning
System at Global Level
GTOS supports the FAO co-lead initiative on
Global Fire Information Management System
(GFIMS) to disseminate active fire and burned
area information products. GOFC-GOLD co-lead
the development of a system for global early
warning of wildland fire disaster.
GTOS contribution to the GEO Tasks
US-09-03b: Forest Mapping and Change
Monitoring
GOFC-GOLD contributes to the development of
new techniques for forest monitoring using remote
sensing data, and evaluates methods and
validation, including new uses of SAR for forest
monitoring.
GTOS and GEO relationships
Convergence of scope
GEO was conceived to respond to the urgent and growing need
for globally coordinated earth observations.
GTOS was conceived to provide terrestrial observations in
support of sustainable development.
GEO recognizes GTOS as a GEO Participating Organization
because it has a mandate in earth observations and related
activities.
GTOS recognizes the importance of GEO as a unique
coordinated initiatives on global earth observation system of
systems, essential to avoid duplication and create synergies.
Questions for GEO Sec:
what is the level of recognition of GTOS as a leading actor in
terrestrial observations needed to implement the GEO work plan?
How GTOS contributes to GEO
At time of the last GTOS Strategy GEO did not exist!
GEO now is a reality.
The new GTOS strategy shall endorse the GEO initiative.
Up to know the mechanism for GTOS to contribute to GEO is simple:
i.
ii.
iii.
GTOS contributes to and checks the GEO WP
GTOS see what GEO tasks are relevant to its mandate
GTOS carry on its activities relevant to a GEO tasks in the frame of
the GEO mechanism (Task team, task plan, task sheet update, etc.)
Question to the GTOS SC:
Do we need to define an agreed strategies for GTOS in working within
the GEO framework to contribute to the implementation of GEO-Tasks?
Should we create an ad hoc strategy/mechanism for interactions
between GEO and GTOS?
GTOS and GEO – other issues
GTOS sponsors are also GEO members: should the
relationships between GTOS and GEO be fully endorsed by
GTOS sponsors?
How the GTOS relationships with the conventions fit GEO?
What is the GTOS position respect to GEO and the
Convention? In the middle?
Problem of costs: (voluntary) participation in GEO often
require additional resources (time, financial, personnel,
travels)…
Any other issues?
GTOS SC 4th Session
Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS role in GEOBON
The Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity
Observation Network was formed as a result of a
process which had GTOS involvement from the
start.
Bob Scholes (at that time the B-GTOS chair) was
appointed by GEO to the Implementation Planning
Task Team for the GEOSS with the task to flesh
out the Biodiversity Societal Benefit Area and the
Ecosystems Societal Benefit Area.
GTOS SC 4th Session
Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS role in GEOBON
GEOSS in its 2007 workplan called for a GEOBON
planning task (BI-07-01).
The call was directed at, and taken up by, DIVERSITAS
and NASA.
The B-GTOS chair represented both GTOS and
DIVERSITAS in the process.
An Interim Steering Group was formed (with many
members from GTOS team + marine people).
The ISG drafted a Concept Document, from which an IP
was developed and a descriptive paper was published on
Science (Scholes, RJ et al 2008 Towards a global
biodiversity observation system. Science321,1044-5).
This led to the GEOBON initiative.
GTOS SC 4th Session
Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS role in GEOBON
A GEOBON SC formed in January 2009 (chair B. Scholes).
The execution takes place via working groups that are
developing IP and thinking about products:•
1. Genetic level (Tet Yahara and Daniel Faith)
2. Terrestrial Species Monitoring Programmes
(Henrique Pereira)
3. Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring (Rob Jongman)
4. Freshwater Ecosystem Monitoring (Ian Harrison)
5. Marine Ecosystem Monitoring (Jan de Leeuw and Carlo
Heip)
6. Ecosystem Services (Hal Mooney)
7. In-situ / Remote-sensing Integration (Simon Ferrier)
8. Informatics and Portals (Hannu Saarenmaa and Eamonn O
Tuama)
GTOS SC 4th Session
Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS role in GEOBON
GTOS was involved in GEO since its start and potentially
occupies a key position within the GEOBON network: it is the
acknowledged coordination point for international land cover
mapping and monitoring projects. However GTOS does not
yet have a developed biodiversity area.
Possible future GTOS niche:
1. Develop a ‘biodiversity relevant’ land cover interpretation,
following the principle that all land cover legends should
follow the LCCS specifications
2. A second key issue for biodiversity is fragmentation and
connectivity (decide which minimal set of metrics to chose)
3. Take note of the global ecosystem maps under
development in GEOSS task EC-09-01a: Ecosystem
Classification and Mapping.
GTOS SC 4th Session
Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS role in GEOBON
Other potential GTOS contribution
1. A global ecological interactions database. This would
take the conceptual form of ‘Species A was observed to
interact in way X with species B’, along with the time, place
and identity of the observer. Such a database does not yet
exist in shared form anywhere, and is not planned by any of
the key players.
2. A community database (also called a plot database).
This would contain species that are observed to coexist at a
given location and time.
GTOS SC 4th Session
Paris, UNESCO HQ
30 Nov - 2 Dec 2009
GTOS role in BDV: IPBES?
Other potential GTOS contribution on Biodiversity
Be fully engaged on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Not only with geospatial data and other biodiversity related
information at
- Ecosystem level (maps, LCCS, fragmentation and connectivity,
ecosystem vulnerability, bdv indexes, etc.)
and
- Species level (rare species, invasive species, change of habitats,
database on georeferenced species, etc.)
but also at the conceptual level, defining:
- post 2010 biodiversity targets
- biodiversity indicators, etc…
B-GTOS some question…
B-GTOS Draft Strategic Document on Biodiversity?
What is the importance for sponsors to have a B-GTOS?
(high, we believe…)
What is your vision on B-GTOS: continue/leave?
(continue, we believe, but… as an activity or panel?)
Do you see any conflicts/overlaps with GEOBON? Or do you
envisage synergies?
Other issues?