Partners
International
Organizations
The Global
Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) is an international
organization co-sponsored by UNEP,
U.N. Education,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), FAO,
International Council for Science (ICSU), and World
Meteorological Organization (WMO). GTOS promotes the improved
collection of, and access to, bio-physical and socio-economic
geo-referenced data, with an initial emphasis on existing
research centres. The GTOS secretariat has contributed significantly
to the design phase of GOFC-GOLD. A number of areas of future
collaboration have been identified; including working to provide
greater access to in-situ and earth observation data, development
of information products related to Net Primary Productivity,
and providing guidance and assistance for nations in meeting
their reporting obligations under the Framework Convention
on Climate Change. Due to a strong motivation by both GTOS
and GOFC-GOLD to work closely together to achieve common objectives,
GOFC-GOLD has become a panel of GTOS.
The Global
Climate Observing System (GCOS) is a partnership of WMO,
UNESCO, UNEP and ICSU. Its objectives are to ensure the acquisition
of data for climate system monitoring, climate change detection
and response monitoring, the application of climate information
to national economic development, and research.
GTOS and
GCOS have indicated their strong need for information on global
forest cover and forest attributes, primarily through the
work of the Terrestrial
Observations Panel for Climate (TOPC), a joint GTOS-GCOS
activity. TOPC has provided expertise for the development
of GOFC-GOLD based on its pioneering work in identifying a
suite of observations needed for GTOS and GCOS. It is currently
leading the development of the Terrestrial Carbon Theme for
the IGOS Partnership, and will provide essential guidance
for GOFC-GOLD concerning the observational requirements needed
to understand the terrestrial carbon budget of the earth.
The Integrated
Global Observing System Partners (IGOS-P) seeks to provide
a comprehensive framework to harmonize the common interests
of the major space-based and in-situ systems for global observation
of the Earth. Its aim is to provide an over-arching strategy
for conducting observations relating to climate and atmosphere,
oceans and coasts, the land surface and the Earth's interior.
IGOS-P will build upon the strategies of existing international
global observing programs, such as GOFC-GOLD, and upon current
achievements, in seeking to improve observing capacity and
deliver observations in a cost-effective and timely fashion.
The Food
and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has contributed substantially
to the development of GOFC-GOLD by providing input and guidance
concerning its own requirements for earth observation data,
and also by providing input on the needs of its member states.
One of FAO's projects is to carry out a global Forest Resources
Assessment every ten years. Back in 1990, data from earth-observation
satellites played a major role in the assessment of tropical
forest resources. For the year 2000, the assessment has been
expanded to the temperate and boreal forests. FAO, through
its national forest programs, also works with individual nations
to provide them with the tools and capacity to bring about
improved forest management at the national level; this includes
the development of criteria and indicators for sustainable
forest management.
The United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has contributed to
the development of GOFC-GOLD, particularly with respect to
information products of interest to UNEP, such as current
information on active fires, and the ability to carry out
rapid post-fire assessment of burned areas. UNEP operates
Global Resource Information Database (GRID), which maintains
a distributed global archive of geo-referenced environmental
data in computer-accessible format. This data is acquired
from various organizations and provides geo-referenced and
tabular data and GIS support to users world-wide. GOFC-GOLD
will provide more current information about forests for UNEP.
|
