News
Land Cover Implementation Team member wins MacArthur
Foundation Award
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named GOFC-GOLD
Land Cover Implementation Team member Ruth DeFries as one of 24 fellows
for 2007. Ruth DeFries is based at the University of Maryland. As an
environmental geographer, Ruth explores the relationship between the
Earth’s vegetative cover, human modification of the landscape
and the biochemical processes that regulate the Earth’s
habitability, using both satellite data and field work.
Contact: Ruth DeFries
GOFC-GOLD working group develops REDD Sourcebook
The GOFC-GOLD working group on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Degradation in Developing countries (REDD) has drafted a Sourcebook
on methods and procedures for monitoring, measuring and reporting. The
REDD Sourcebook is open review at http://www.gofc-gold.uni-jena.de/redd/index.php.
Several side events have been held to provide updates on recent
Sourcebook developments and next steps for its further evolution.
The Sourcebook emphasizes the role of satellite
remote sensing as an important tool for monitoring changes in forest
cover, and provides clarification on the IPCC Guidelines for
reporting changes in forest carbon stocks at the national level.
It provides a consensus perspective from the global community of
earth observation and carbon experts on methodological issues
relating to quantifying carbon impacts of implementation activities
to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing
countries (REDD).
Contact: Martin Herold
GOFC-GOLD Implementation Teams help draft Essential
Climate Variables
GOFC-GOLD implementation team members have contributed to the
draft reports on Essential Climate Variables (ECV) for Land Cover
and Fire. Global Terrestrial Observing System is producing a report
on the Essential (terrestrial) Climate Variables as requested by
UNFCCC SNSTA.
The reports are available at the Global Terrestrial
Observing System (GTOS) website:
ECV T13: Fire
ECV T09: Land Cover
Contact: Antonio Bombelli
GOFC-GOLD West Africa Regional Network Launched
The GOFC-GOLD West Africa Regional Network (WARN) has been
established. WARN was kicked off at the West Africa Regional
Network Meeting on Earth Observation and Environmental Change,
held in conjunction with the GOFC-GOLD Workshop on Requirements
for Fire Early Warning Systems in Africa at the University of
Ghana (Legon) in Accra, Ghana in November 2007.
Contact: Cheikh Mbow
GOFC-GOLD contributes to GEO Ministerial Summit
GEO Ministerial Summit GOFC-GOLD participated in the fifth Group
on Earth Observations (GEO) Ministerial Summit held 30 November
2007, in Cape Town, South Africa. The Summit focused on Earth
Observation for Sustainable Growth and Development. GOFC-GOLD
emphasized the importance of Earth Observation Continuity.
The earth’s vegetation has been mapped regularly for
the last several decades. This land cover information is used
by both scientists and natural resource managers for a variety
of purposes to numerous to list here. For high resolution data
we have been able to rely mainly on a single source of freely
available global observations. By the end of this decade, however,
this source of data may no longer be available to the GTOS and
others.
Contact: Michael Brady
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