The classification of Land Cover and Land Use (LCLU) are some of the primary measures driving natural resources monitoring, climate science and are critical for addressing many of the United Nations (UN) sustainability goals, including the estimation of world agricultural production.

Information on LCLU is also crucial for addressing the requirements of the major International Conventions of the UN system i.e., United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). LCLU data standards are critical to support UN Agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support disaster preparedness and response, insect, and pathogen assessments, supporting agricultural systems, and the water and energy sectors.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with ISO Advisory Group on Land Cover and Land Use (AG-13) organized a side event on 20th August 2021 to raise awareness of the importance of LCLU and collect input on describing the challenges of promoting, developing, and implementing the related standards, and furthermore to inform United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UNGGIM) of the ISO/TC 211 activities on LCLU, and to open a dialogue for collaboration and communication between ISO/TC 211 and UN-GGIM.

The LCLU Advisory Group (AG -13) is established to advise ISO/TC 211 on the application and implementation of the ISO/TC 211 standards on LCLU in the UN and other transnational organizations and to coordinate with the context of broader UN initiatives for this purpose.

The AG-13 can become part of a broader Global Coordination Committee on LCLU under the UN umbrella and develop a global network of experts and practitioners sharing experiences, lessons learned, good practices, methods, and use of information and integrated Earth Observations (EO) on LCLU associated to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

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Agenda

14:00 - 14:10 

Convening of meeting and presentation of agenda 

Mr Douglas Muchoney, Head of Geospatial Unit, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO

14:10 - 14:15 

Opening remarks 

Kyoung-Soo Eom, Chief, Geospatial Information Section

Mr Doug O'Brien, IDON Technologies Inc.

14:15 - 15:10

Presentations on the importance of Land Cover and Land Use

•Land Cover and Land Use in the Global Geospatial Information Management Community

Mr Mark Iliffe, UN-GGIM Secretariat

•A Brief History of ISO TC-211 and WG 7

Mr Mats Åhlin, Committee Manager ISO/TC 211 Geographic Information/Geomatics 

Ms Agneta Engberg, Senior Advisor, Chair ISO/TC 211

•Interlinkages between the AG LULC and the UN Geospatial Network 

Mr Toby Wicks, UNICEF and Vice Chair of the UN Geospatial Network (TBC)

•Land Cover Legend Registry

Ms Fatima Mushtaq, Consultant, Geospatial Unit, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO 

•Land Cover to Land Use - Development of a new International Meta-Language on Land Use 19144-3 

Mr John Latham, Senior Geospatial Advisor, UNFAO 

Project Leader Land Cover & Land Use: ISO TC211 

•Future UN-GGIM and ISO/TC 211/AG - 13 Activities in LULC – Terms of Reference

Mr Matieu Henry, Officer, Geospatial Unit, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO

15:10 - 15:20 

Moderated discussion for collecting input of describing the challenges of promoting, developing, and implementing the related standards.

Ms Inge Jonckheere, FAO Forestry 

15:20 - 15:30

Future perspectives and closing 

Mr Douglas Muchoney, Head of Geospatial Unit, Land and Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO