1. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION SUBGROUP Co-chairs: Harlan Watson (USA) John Zillman (Australia) Patricio Bernal (IOC)

2. GOAL Defining a ten year plan for the establishment of a Comprehensive, Coordinated and Sustained Earth observation System or SystemsDefining a ten year plan for the establishment of a Comprehensive, Coordinated and Sustained Earth observation System or Systems (CCS-EOSS), insuring its long term sustainability. (CCS-EOSS), insuring its long term sustainability.

3. ISSUE 1: UNIVERSAL MANDATE Paragraphs 36a, 37, 38, 132 and 133 WSSD Plan of ImplementationParagraphs 36a, 37, 38, 132 and 133 WSSD Plan of Implementation The G8 Evian declarationThe G8 Evian declaration Global Conventions:Global Conventions:UNFCC,DesertificationBiodiversity Vienna Convention (Ozone) Other ConventionsOther ConventionsUNCLOSRamsar London MARPOL GPA (Washington) Disaster Prevention SOLAS

4. ISSUE 2: INCLUSIVENESS According to the Mandates, the mechanism chosen must be one that, benefiting from the lead from those specialist communities and organizations, can at the same time seek and obtain the support and active engagement of all nations.According to the Mandates, the mechanism chosen must be one that, benefiting from the lead from those specialist communities and organizations, can at the same time seek and obtain the support and active engagement of all nations. In particular, must be such as to ensure that the developing countries are fully involved and enabled to benefit to the full from its successful implementation.In particular, must be such as to ensure that the developing countries are fully involved and enabled to benefit to the full from its successful implementation.

5. ISSUE 3: Level at which Int.coop.will take place The GEO ministerial group has called upon both nations and organizations to join in the effort.The GEO ministerial group has called upon both nations and organizations to join in the effort.

6. Int.Coordination Needs: Coordination is needed among: National foci (planning and implementation)National foci (planning and implementation) Sponsoring international organizations of GOS (or other EO efforts);Sponsoring international organizations of GOS (or other EO efforts); Component national and international programs;Component national and international programs; Funding and implementing agencies of participating countries;Funding and implementing agencies of participating countries; In the formulation of scientific and technical advice for the design and development, andIn the formulation of scientific and technical advice for the design and development, and National and international system providers and users communities [?]National and international system providers and users communities [?]

7. Existing Coordination Mechanisms 1 Among countries, n Among countries, o UN Specialized Agencies and Programmes managing or sponsoring the development of Global Observing Systems: o The World Meteorological Organization (WMO); o Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); o UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), o Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, o United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); o World Health Organization (WHO) o Other International organizations global and regional involved in Earth Observations (ESA, EUMETSAT, GMES ?).

8. Existing Coordination Mechanisms 2 Intergovernmental Coordination Mechanisms n Intergovernmental Coordination Mechanisms o Intergovernmental Panel for the Global Ocean Observing System I-GOOS; o WMO-IOC Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM); nOf scientific or technical advice: o GCOS Steering Committee (GCOS-SC), o Atmosphere Observations Panel for Climate (AOPC), o GOOS Scientific Committee, o Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC), o Terrestrial Observations Panel for Climate (TOPC)

9. Existing Coordination Mechanisms 3 Among provider and user communities: oWMO Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), oWMO-IOC JCOMM, oEUROGOOS and other GOOS Regional Alliances, oGMES (?) Best Efforts International Organizations: oIntegrated Global Observing Strategy Partnership (IGOS-P), oCommittee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), oInternational Steering Committee for Global Mapping (ISCGM), among others. Among national funding and implementing agencies: oInternational Group of Funding Agencies (IGFA); etc.

10. …The Challenge to find a route to develop inclusiveness, whilst maintaining an effective executive capability that carries the confidence of all. This is not an easy target but needs to be addressed in the early stages of the GEO process.

11. OPTIONS 1: A.Creation of a new international intergovernmental organization (UN or non- UN) …from scratch… B. A new UN specialized agency dealing with Earth Observations by… a collage of pieces of existing ones… C.Establishment of an overarching intergovernmental mechanism for coordinating the relevant activities …a la IPCC

12. OPTIONS 2: D.Establishment of a joint subsidiary GEO intergovernmental coordination body by the existing intergovernmental organizations sponsoring or co-sponsoring Earth Observation Systems. Initial GEO countries and National Organizations, as designated by their respective Governments, become integral part of this mechanism.

13. OPTIONS 3: E.At least in the initial steps of the GEO process, a variant of D has been suggested almost as a zero-order option: Keep GEO as it is today and use an existing mechanism, like IGOS-P, with the goal of supporting the evolution of GEO towards full alignment with the alternative outlined in (D)

14. OPTIONS SUMMARY: n The options to choose depend on the level of evolution and progress of the process itself: Move soon out of the spiral of diminishing returns. n Progress need the real support of some structure: Move the process out of the VV: Voluntary and Virtual. n Effectiveness requires: flexible functionality and clear benchmarking.

15. Equatorial Pacific Ocean Sea-level from Altimetry during El Niño 1997-98

16. INITIAL GOOS FOR THE PACIFIC OCEAN Yellow dots: Tide gauges (Sea-level); Red dots: Moored Buoys (T.S 2000 m); Blue lines: Ships of Opportunity (XBTs and pCO2)

17. P rofiling Autonomous Floats These are oceanic analogues to radiosondes used in operational Meteorology. Parked at 2000 m, they ascend to the surface collecting a high precision profile of the density structure of the upper layers of the ocean. Argo floats: