A GTOS Plan has been prepared and is now being reviewed by the members of the GTSC and the Co-sponsors. The Plan will be completed and distributed early in 1998.
The GTOS Coordination and Implementation meeting (12-15 May 1997, Rome, Italy) reviewed a preliminary draft plan and agreed that the implementation strategy would be divided into three main phases: a preparatory phase (short-term: 1997), an establishment phase (medium-term: 1998-99) and an operational phase (long-term: 2000 and beyond).
The main activities of the preparatory phase include the technical definition and the design framework for its operation. In this phase, the priorities are:
establish a stronger foundation for the Secretariat by obtaining secure funding and additional scientific support;
further definition of the plan and strategy;
establish its boundaries in scope and operation; and
prepare background documents about GTOS.
The establishment phase will aim to strengthen linkages between existing observing systems and GTOS by identifying a few existing international networks that share the GTOS objectives and which could form the core of a “network of networks”.
During the operational phase, action will be directed towards continued and expanded programme implementation, including the production of a range of outputs, continued evaluation and improvement of the programme, and establishing a GTOS identity among key groups of scientists and policy makers.
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What is GTOS? The central mission of GTOS is to provide policy makers, resource managers and researchers with access to the data needed to detect, quantify, locate, understand and warn of changes (especially reductions) in the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to support sustainable development. GTOS focuses on five issues of global concern: changes in land quality; availability of freshwater resources; loss of biodiversity; pollution and toxicity; climate change. This programme aims to provide guidance in data analysis and to promote (a) integration of bio-physical and socio-economic geo-referenced data; (b) interaction between monitoring networks, research programmes and policy makers; (c) data exchange and application; and (d) quality assurance and harmonization of measurements methods. |
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During 1997 work has concentrated on the following main areas: 1. Preparation of a GTOS Plan 2. Initiation of a global terrestrial observing network (GT-Net) 3. Support for GTOS initiatives 4. Collaborative activities 5. Information and communication |
