CODATA’s Participation at the
Global Earth Observation (GEO) Summit,
Cape Town, November 2007

CODATA took a very active part in the recent GEO Summit that took place Cape Town 27-30 November 2007. http://www.earthobservations.org/meetings/meetings.html

This participation was a culmination in a long series of activities dating back to early 2006. In 2006, GEO established Task DA-06-01. Information on the lead up CODATA activities can be found on http://www.codata.org/GEOSS/index.html

CODATA organized a side-event on the 29 th November focusing specifically on the White Paper. Approximately 30 people attended the event. Among the organizations present were- GBIF; WMO; IISA; US/NOAA; EEA; GOOS; OGC; ERSI; UNEP; INPE; IIASA; CAS; GSI; USGS; NASA; CSA; and of course ICSU and the GEO Secretariat. CODATA Vice-President Steve Rossouw opened the event and it was followed by short interventions from Thomas Rosswall , Executive Director, ICSU; Michael Rast, GEO Secretariat and GUO Huadong, Director General, Centre for Earth Observation and Digital Earth and member of the CODATA Executive Committee. Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, Director, National Centre for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi , who is one of the international team of authors who drafted the document, presented an outline of the document and the events leading to the current draft..

This White Paper was highlighted at the GEO Plenary meeting on the 29 th of November as an information document. Professor Gabrynowicz, in her capacity as one of the authors, was asked to give a short presentation to the Plenary Members. The document was presented as an information/evolving document and it is currently been updated to reflect the comments of the coming from the delegates at the Cape Town meeting .

The document was subsequently discussed at the Architecture and Data Committee meeting of GEO which was held on Saturday, December 1 st. A paper on the follow up process in currently being discussed by the CODATA and GEO secretariats.

During the three day period CODATA also shared an Exhibition booth at the GEO Summit with ICSU, DIVERSITAS and WCRP.