Posted 30 November 2000

Planning Group Report -"GTOS: Turning a sound concept into a practical reality"

Abstract
June 1996

FOR HOW LONG can the Earth tolerate ever intensifying human pressures on its land, water and atmosphere? The simple answer is: we do not know. We lack comprehensive data on the physical environment, terrestrial ecosystem processes, and socio-economic forces that are changing them. We have no reliable baseline for assessing ecosystem changes, no global early warning mechanism to alert us to changes requiring preventative or remedial action. We cannot say whether natural resources conventions, policies and plans adopted today are adequate to meet tomorrow's challenges. These concerns - and the 1992 Earth summit - have prompted four United Nations bodies and the world scientific community to create the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS). GTOS aims at improving the quality and coverage of terrestrial ecosystem data, and integrating them into a worldwide knowledge base that will help us manage our planet wisely for future generations.

For more information, contact: gtos@fao.org.

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