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The 12th Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO-XII) opened on Wednesday, 11 November in Mexico City, Mexico, with a welcome from Rolando Ocampo, Vice-President, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and GEO Principal for Mexico, and opening statements from the four GEO Co-Chairs, Kathryn Sullivan (US), Jianlin Cao (China), Rudolf Strohmeier (European Commission), and Philemon Mjwara (South Africa). The Plenary also welcomed Ecuador, Kenya, Somalia, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe as new Members, bringing the number to 100 Members.
The Plenary took note of the draft Mexico City Declaration to be adopted at the Ministerial Summit on Friday, 13 November, as well as the proposed summit programme and agenda.
Presentations were made on implementation of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) 2005-2015, including a summary assessment of progress on the targets and tasks, the report of the Sixth and Summary Evaluation of GEOSS Implementation, and a series of lessons learned from GEO's first decade.
The Implementation Plan Working Group (IPWG) presented the ‘GEO Strategic Plan 2016-2025: Implementing GEOSS,’ and after some discussion, delegates sought edits to reflect discussion points raised about climate change and weather.
The Plenary agreed on revised criteria for observers and Participating Organizations (POs), lifting the temporary moratorium on new POs, and accepted the evaluation of applications for new observers and POs, welcoming four observers, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and five POs, including the World Bank.
The Plenary also discussed the 2015 to 2016 transition, the appointment of the Programme Board, GEO engagement with stakeholders, and the Transitional Work Programme 2016.
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» GEO-XII
