Thursday, 16 January 2014

The final day of GEO-X met on Thursday, 16 January 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland. GEO-X approved the proposal for preparation of the next GEOSS Implementation Plan, discussed the draft Geneva Declaration, and considered the 2013 ExCom report, GEO financial reports and the 2014 operations budget, Implementation Board and ExCom membership, and an update of the rules of procedure. The Plenary heard a series of formal statements from Members and Participating Organizations on key events and activities. The Plenary also accepted an offer by Gabon to host GEO-XI in November 2014. The Plenary was gaveled to a close at 3:18 pm.

In the afternoon, Karine Siegwart, Vice Director, Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, moderated a high-level panel on "Perspectives on the Value of Earth Observations." Panelists provided their insights on the role of Earth observations in addressing global environmental challenges and achieving sustainable development into the future, as an input to the Ministerial Summit discussions on the future of GEO. Presentations were provided by: Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP; Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction; Philippe Gillet, Acting President, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland; and Serge Tröber, Chief Underwriting Officer of Corporate Solutions, Swiss Re.

Throughout the day, the EU sponsored a "Speakers' Corner" with presentations on a number of issues linked to GEOSS, while separate special events were held on the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network, UNEP-Live, GEONETCast support to the Charter on Disasters, the EU's Copernicus programme, and the role of the Blue Planet Initiative in the Integrated Atlantic Observing System.

In the evening, Ministers and Heads of Delegation attended a dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel hosted by the Government of Switzerland.

Summary of the meeting in English (in HTML and in PDF format)

Visit the full GEO-X coverage for Thursday, 16 January 2014

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

On Wednesday morning, 15 January 2014, the Tenth Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO-X) opened in Geneva, Switzerland, with welcoming remarks from the Head of the Swiss delegation, Karine Siegwart, GEO Secretariat Director Barbara Ryan and the four GEO Co-Chairs, Kathryn Sullivan (US), Jianlin Cao (China), Rudolf Strohmeier (European Commission), and Philemon Mjwara (South Africa). The opening session also recognized Georgia as a new Member, approved 10 new Participating Organizations and two observers, and approved the report of GEO-IX.

GEO-X then examined the documents provided to the Ministerial Summit, particularly the draft vision to 2025, a proposal for the process to develop a new implementation plan, and the draft Geneva Declaration. The Plenary approved the vision document with an amendment suggested by Australia. A decision on the proposal for the implementation plan process was postponed until Thursday to allow Members more time to review the proposal.

In the afternoon, the Plenary considered the reports on Assessment of Progress, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Progress on Implementation of Recommendations from GEOSS Evaluation. The Secretariat presented the proposed update of the 2012-2015 Work Plan, which was approved subject to review and update in 2015. The day’s Plenary finished with highlights from GEOSS implementation, including specific presentations on the Global Network for Observations and Information in Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME), the AfriGEOSS initiative, and the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI).

Throughout the day, the EU sponsored a "Speakers' Corner" with presentations on a number of issues linked to GEOSS, while separate special events were held on citizen observatories, China Earth observation technology, a scientific roadmap toward Integrated Earth System Science in 2015-2025, and the International Astronautical Federation's (IAF) role in GEOSS.

In the evening, a reception was held for GEO-X participants hosted by the Swiss Government.

Summary of the meeting in English (in HTML and in PDF format)

Visit the full GEO-X coverage for Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

On Tuesday, 14 January, the Executive Committee of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) met throughout the day in preparation for the tenth GEO Plenary (GEO-X) and the Geneva Ministerial Summit. Also meeting in parallel were the Africa Land Cover Working Group, the GEO Institutions and Development Implementation Board, the GEOSS Interoperability for Weather, Ocean and Water (GEOWOW) General Assembly, and a Joint Meeting of the Disasters Task Team and Geohazards Community of Practice (GHCP).

Throughout the day, the EU sponsored a “Speakers' Corner” with presentations on a number of issues linked to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), while separate special events were held on biodiversity and ecosystems, open access to research data, the GEOSS Water Strategy, bringing GEOSS services into practice, world food systems, application of space technologies in the water sector, the Global Initiative for Cholera Early Warning, air quality and health, the role of mountain ecosystems in the GEO Work Programme, and international collaboration on global land cover data product data validation and services.

Summary of the meeting in English (in HTML and in PDF format)

Visit the full GEO-X coverage for Tuesday, 14 January 2014