A number of project proposals were prepared during the first half of 1997 to be used in making contacts with potential donors.
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Scientific and Technical Support to the GTOS Programme |
The value of having top quality scientific expertise in the Secretariat cannot be over-emphasized. The GTOS programme benefited greatly in many areas of work through the presence of Dr. Hal Kibby who was seconded for two years by USEPA to work with GCOS and during 1997 worked half-time, supported by FAO, on the GTOS programme. His experience and dedication will be missed in 1998. Terms of Reference have been prepared to recruit senior scientists to work on GTOS activities in Rome for 1-2 years under the FAO Academic Exchange Programme. This project would provide scientific and technical support within the GTOS Secretariat in areas relating to data management and information exchange, data and information exchange, data and information support to the international conventions and capacity building in countries. It will allow the Secretariat, under the guidance of the Steering Committee, to implement the GTOS programme on an accelerated basis. |
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Support for the Assessment and Development of User Requirements |
This project would consult with policy makers, planners and scientists to develop a priority list of long-term terrestrial observation requirements based on the five GTOS priority issues: changes in land quality, availability of freshwater resources; loss of biodiversity; climate change; and effects of pollution and toxicity. |
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Support to the TEMS Meta-database |
This project would improve the Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring Sites (TEMS) meta-database by expanding the number of registered terrestrial monitoring sites, updating the content and quality of existing data, introducing and distributing a pc-based version of the meta-database, incorporating new user features and make the Internet access more robust. It would also promote wider use of TEMS among scientists and policy analysts. |
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Application of GCOS/GTOS in Developing Countries |
This project would organize a workshop in Asia to bring together government policy makers and local scientists to formulate a project that will provide information to meet a regional and/or national environmental management needs. A similar proposal is under development for the Latin American region. |
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Definition and Demonstration of the Operational Aspects of the Global Observing Systems |
The overall objective of the project is to define and demonstrate the operational aspects of GCOS, GOOS and GTOS in cooperation with the relevant institutions of six developing countries located in Africa, Asia and Latin America and two developed countries in Europe. This project was submitted to the government of Norway in 1996, which agreed to support a portion of it but requested the collaboration (cofinancing) of other donors. The proposal was therefore sent to other potential donors (Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden). At present there have been expressions of interest but no firm agreement on support. |
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Endorsement of Proposals During 1997 GTOS endorsed two project proposals that were consistent with the objectives of GTOS and which could contribute to better understanding of the changes taking place in terrestrial ecosystems. |
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Integrated Monitoring in EC/ENRICH Programme |
A proposal on Networking of Long-term Integrated Monitoring in Terrestrial Systems (NoLIMITS) was developed in January 1997 and submitted to the European Union (EU). This proposal sets out a scheme for a preparatory action within ENRICH (European Network for Research in Global Change) which aims to provide a focus for the coordination of existing long-term integrated monitoring site schemes to ensure the maximum coherence of data and information products on a European scale. This includes the emerging opportunities for integrated monitoring schemes in Eastern Europe and the requirements of key users represented by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) and the Centre for Earth Observation (CEOS). It will strengthen the networking of existing long-term monitoring sites throughout Europe, and promote the transfer of information between existing sites, and between sites and the potential international users of data and information, through the use of the Internet. In July, the implementing organizations, among which is the Environment Change Network of the UK, were informed that their proposal had been accepted. They are now organizing a Steering Committee meeting in early 1998 to launch this project. |
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Quantitative Indicators and Indices of Environmental |
In September, GTOS supported a proposal prepared by the University of Cantabria and submitted to the EU on quantitative indicators and indices of environmental quality which aims to build a Euro-Latin American Network for Environmental Assessment and Monitoring (ELANEM). This network, based on previous cooperation links among partners, will strengthen research and development capabilities of the different members and enhance their participation in specific international programmes. The immediate objective of the project is to design and test a procedure for measuring environmental quality and establishing relationships between the pressures and impacts arising from human actions and the level of societal response to environmental changes. Multidisciplinary and quantitative indicators and indices would be developed. A response from the EU is expected in early 1998. |
Other Sources of Financing
The annual core support from the co-sponsors to the GTOS trust fund has been instrumental in holding the initial meetings among the Steering Committee members and raising the awareness of the GTOS programme at key scientific meetings.
However, additional resources are needed in order to demonstrate the benefits of GTOS.
Informal approaches for support to the programme were made to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA. It appears that resources may be forthcoming from the USA to develop a geospatial environmental information system for land, water and biodiversity - three of the five priority GTOS issues. Terms of reference for this work are being developed.
In addition to providing the staff and offices for the GTOS Secretariat, FAO has agreed to provide support in 1998 for GTOS to develop a framework and indicators on the socio-economic aspects of “managed” biodiversity of which the major part is in the areas of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. This agrobiodiversity initiative, aimed directly at the countries that are party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), would involve a number of other organizations in producing a technical paper for consideration by CBD’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice. The Secretariat will seek to test the work, initially in a few countries in Central America, where complementary initiatives are underway.
Although 1997 has not resulted in significant additional financing for GTOS, a number of important elements have been put into place. Not the least of these are: formulation of project ideas and proposals that reflect GTOS priorities; establishing contact with appropriate persons in financing organizations who understand and appreciate the importance of global change issues; and, identification of sources for possible future funding. Hopefully these efforts will pay off in 1998.
Three sources of financing relevant to GTOS will need to be followed up in 1998:
The Fund for Methodological Support to Ecoregional Programmes, which is managed by the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR). The objectives and operations of this fund are guided by an international Steering Committee (ISC). The Fund supports research to develop methodology that (a) enhances implementation activities in ecoregions and (b) supports processes of change in ecoregions to improve management of natural resources and rural development.
ICSU's Grants Programme: for 1999, all of ICSU's Joint Initiatives will be eligible for a grant in Category I, i.e. for new innovative projects involving one - or preferably more - ICSU bodies, with high profile (potentially) and international nature, and consistent with ICSU's objective to promote basic sciences or their application to development and human welfare. The grants are for amounts ranging between US$ 50,000 - 100,000.
The U.S. National Science Foundation which through a process of competitive grants has supported the development of long-term ecological research programmes and is alsoinitiating a programme called “Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence” (KDI) that fits well with the GT-Net objectives of information and data sharing. By teaming up with appropriate U.S. institutions, support for initiatives that reflect the NSF criteria and the objectives of GTOS could be realized.
