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Facts and News
UK GEO Co-ordination Project Launched
Observation systems are critical to the
management of the natural environment and need to be developed through
international collaboration for their full environmental potential to be
realised. The intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is leading a
worldwide effort to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)
to build on and add value to existing Earth Observation (EO)
systems.
Four of the UK organisations with a
significant stake in building GEOSS have come together to develop the UK’s
strategy for involvement in GEO. This will be achieved through a jointly funded
UK GEO Co-ordination Project.
UK participation within GEO is currently
managed by a partnership consisting of the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the UK
Space Agency (UKSA) and the Environment Research Funders Forum (ERFF), through
the Environmental Observations Framework (UK-EOF). Defra provides the UK policy
lead on GEO while NERC and UKSA have strong interests in global observations
that drive their interest within GEO and the UK-EOF is seeking to develop a
stronger basis for a global observing system that meets UK needs.
The UK GEO Co-ordination Project has been
established to:
- bring together individuals and
organisations across the UK involved in GEO,
- provide opportunity to engage with and
influence the GEO initiative,
- gauge the level of current UK GEO
involvement,
- identify gaps and opportunities for UK
contribution to GEO,
- decide on the optimum level of UK
engagement with GEO,
- develop an appropriate strategy to
achieve this.
The project runs from March 2010 to March
2012 and is being delivered for the partners by the British Geological Survey,
which is part of NERC. If you would like to be involved, or just to join the
distribution list, please send your contact details to ukgeo@nerc.ac.uk. Over the
coming months interested parties will be contacted regarding their involvement
in and views on GEO.
Background Information on GEO and
GEOSS
The intergovernmental Group on Earth
Observations (GEO) is a voluntary partnership of international governments and
organisations that are coordinating the construction of a Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). As of September 2009, GEO’s members
include 80 Governments and the European Commission. In addition, 58
intergovernmental, international, and regional organisations with a mandate in
Earth observation or related issues have been recognised as Participating
Organisations.
GEOSS is a coordinating and integrating
network of earth observing and information systems, contributed by members and
Participating Organisations of GEO. It aims to achieve comprehensive,
coordinated and sustained observations of the earth system in order to improve
monitoring of the state of the earth, increase understanding of earth processes,
and enhance prediction of the behaviour of the earth system. GEOSS will meet the
need for timely, quality, long-term global information as a basis for sound
decision making, and will enhance delivery of benefits to society in nine areas:
disasters, health, energy, climate, agriculture, ecosystems, biodiversity, water
and weather.
News published: Wednesday, 9th June 2010 9.00 am