12th Plenary Session of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO-XII)
and GEO 2015 Mexico City Ministerial Summit

The workshop, chaired by Xiang Zhou, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Co-Chair, CODATA/PASTD, sought to develop implementation guidelines for the Data Sharing Principles in Developing Countries, agreed in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2014 (“Nairobi Principles”) to address specific issues for sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The workshop also sought to improve understanding of the benefits and challenges of data sharing in developing countries.

Barbara Ryan, Director, GEO Secretariat, and Cyndy Chandler, UNESCO, underscored the economic value of open data policies and the importance of resource availability and capacity building, particularly in LMICs.

Paul Ulhir, National Academy of Sciences, US, presented the ten GEO and CODATA data sharing principles, calling for: data to be open and unrestricted, free to end users, informative and assessed for quality, easy to access, interoperable, sustainable and restricted for a limited time if justified; data sharing to be timely; credit to be given to data contributors; and data access to be equitable.

Mustapha Mokrane, International Council for Science (ICSU) World Data System, spoke about the need for increased geographic balance and improved interdisciplinary coverage of data systems. He explained an ICSU certification procedure covering the Nairobi Principles and addressing the following four areas: general requirement and policies; organizational framework; management of data, product and services; and technical infrastructure.

Chuang Liu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained the data management policies of the Global Change Research Data Publishing and Repository as one implementation model.

In a second session, participants broke out into five small groups to discuss five aspects of Nairobi Principles implementation: data should be open and unrestricted; data should be free to the end users; data should be informative and assessed for quality; data sharing should be timely; and data should be easy to find and access.

This event, moderated by Bart de Lathouwer, OGC, demonstrated pilot activities undertaken within AIP-8.

Mattia Santoro, Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), Italy, presented on the GEO Discovery and Access Broker Application Program Interface (DAB-API), noting a key objective to support and facilitate the creation of clients exploiting the DAB functionalities by connecting users with different systems using JavaScript libraries.

Lionel Menard, MINES ParisTech, France, presented a sensor web enablement project supported by ConnectinGEO, enabling in-situ observations of surface solar irradiance (SSI). Underscoring the essential nature of SSI as a climate variable, he noted a key use of the project to provide resources for users such as policymakers.

David Arctur, the University of Texas at Austin, presented on GEOSS Water Services, publishing national and global stream flow and flood forecasts to produce a global water information system. He noted a major breakthrough made in the past year in continental scale flood flow forecasting through the Routing Application for Parallel computation of Discharge (RAPID).

Presenting on capacity building, Lucia Lovison-Golob, Afriterra, explained the strategy to reach out to different agencies to develop skills and knowledge of people within organizations, pointing to a need for more focus on “capability building.”

The event, moderated by David Arctur, University of Texas at Austin, US, discussed progress and next steps in the development of web-based applications for sharing data and predictions for streamflow and flooding, with a particular focus on the example of large scale hydrological simulation models in the US and the potential to bring the use of these tools at the local level worldwide.

Arctur presented an overview of examples of new applications of hydrological data collection and processing worldwide. He underscored the lack of a global water information system and described steps taken towards building international data exchange standards, including activities carried out in the framework of the OGC Hydrology domain working group of the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Commission for Hydrology. Among other initiatives, he described the RAPID model developed in the US for hydrological predictions.

Angelica Gutierrez-Magness, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and AmeriGEOSS, presented the AmeriGEOSS initiative, which was launched in 2014 as a regional effort to contribute to the GEO Global Water Sustainability (GEOGloWS).

Steve Kopp, Esri Software Development, presented a modular framework for global runoff impact analysis. He explained the framework helps turning weather forecasts into informed hydrologic decisions using GIS and decision support tools. He gave examples of web-based applications of the framework for different purposes.

Jim Nelson, Brigham Young University, US, presented examples of capacity building for web-based hydrological data and tools in Latin America, describing the experiences of the CIEHLYC catalog, National Flood Interoperability Experiment US (NFIE US) using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model, and the Global Flood Interoperability Experiment (GFIE) stream flow prediction tool in Colombia, Greece and New Zealand.

The event, moderated by Gary Geller, GEO Secretariat, discussed land cover data needs of different players, datasets harmonization and guidance for the GEO Land Cover task. Barbara Ryan, Director, GEO Secretariat, urged participants to focus on harmonization of the activities of groups developing land cover (LC) datasets.

Michael Bordt, UN Statistics Division, highlighted areas for collaboration on assessing and improving global land cover data, establishing a global spatial reference grid and developing an international standard land cover classification. He added that countries need baseline data in order to track progress from 2016 to 2030.

Alan Belward, European Commission, said the demand for reliable, on-demand, and yearly global land cover information is growing and noted the need to standardize legends, classifications, and accuracy requirements.

In the ensuing discussion, dataset users focused on inter alia: the need for accuracy, consistency and completeness of global datasets; temporal resolution and more information on vegetation and resolution on the classes, conditions and composition of vegetation; and the value of national ownership of the datasets. Dataset producers focused on, inter alia, country level dataset generation, in which the classification scheme is identified by the individual country and using national maps as “feed stock for global mapping,” as rich national datasets are often lost or unshared.

Jun Chen, National Geomatics Center, China, presented the collaborative platform for global land information (CoGland), and Yuqi Bai, Tsinghua University, presented the GEO Land Cover Portal.

Roger Sayre, US Geological Survey, presented on commonalities in global land cover datasets and underscored the challenges of crosswalking different land classification classes.

In the roundtable discussion, participants suggested, inter alia, that: new portals should avoid duplication and focus on harmonization; the SDGs provide an opportunity to produce data that serve to address food insecurity and hunger; carrying out a reinterpretation of legends of land cover classifications in consideration of new user needs; and facilitating more structured dialogue between data users and providers.

Moderator Freek Van der Meer, ITC, presented ITC’s work and noted the aims of the session to: provide an overview of capacity building in Earth observations by regional organizations; develop a shared vision; and consider “the last mile” of capacity building activities in the user community.

Byron Anangwe, Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), Kenya, described his organization’s advocacy role, facilitating communication between scientists, politicians and citizens, including simplifying analyses of complex datasets. He highlighted three key principles: knowledge management; indigenous knowledge; and understanding the relationship of best practices to appropriate knowledge and practices.

Ruud Grim, Netherlands Space Office, presented the G4AW programme on Earth observation use for agricultural purposes. He pointed to success factors common to 14 projects already funded by G4AW, including, a well-identified market and user-focused solution.

Rolf de By, ITC, provided an introduction to the STARS project using remote-sensing technology to improve agricultural practice in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He was followed by presentation from three STARS partners. Imbal Becker-Reshef, University of Maryland, US, presented the STARS project for observation in support of agricultural decisions and policy in Uganda and Tanzania. Sibiry Traore, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), presented on challenges in African smallholder agricultural monitoring with very high resolution remote sensing. He explained the Unlocking the Potential of Land for On-farm Agriculture Development with Information Technology (UPLOAD-IT) project, and emphasized the need to look at other observation models that already work and figure how to bundle in imagery services from remote sensing. Urs Schulthess, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), discussed insights gained from doing research on farmers' fields with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), concluding that UAVs are a key enabling tool for integrated monitoring of bio-physical plant and soil parameters.

Tom Veldkamp, ITC, discussed “capacity building 2.0,” regarding ITC's efforts to move from capacity building in its traditional sense to developing global capacity through “collaborative capacity building.”

Diana Quimbay, Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), Colombia, opened the session by emphasizing the four priority areas of the AmeriGEOSS initiative: agriculture; disaster risk reduction; water; and biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring. She also highlighted five main activities of the six AmeriGEOSS working groups (WGs): engaging stakeholders; fostering regional cooperation; coordinating across WGs; mapping activities of POs in the region; and defining and monitoring indicators of success.

On the Agriculture and Food Security WG, Ricardo Quiorge, IDEAM, underscored key aims, including, to support the second SDG and to develop a Latin American Regional GEOGLAM. He highlighted plans to continue development of the Rangeland and Pasture Productivity sub-initiative.

On the Water Resource Management WG, Angelica Gutierrez-Magness, NOAA, pointed to the WG’s aims to support ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all (SDG 6), and to provide a regional response to issues of water services and management of water resources.

Mike Gill, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, spoke on the goals of the Biodiversity and Ecosystems WG, underscoring a key activity to support the development of a Regional Marine Bon (mBON) and noting that AmeriGEOSS provided an opportunity for coordination.

On the Disaster Risk Reduction WG, Francisco Javier Jiménez Nava, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), Mexico, noted work to: support the Sendai Framework’s first priority of understanding disaster risk; prioritize disaster risks based on regional vulnerability; and assess and engage ongoing GEO activities for application to regional risks.

On the Foundational Activities WG, Quimbay highlighted the need to pay attention to infrastructure and capacity, making note of ongoing activities, including GEONETCast Americas, Charter and GEO GNOME. Juan Carlos Fallas, National Meteorological Institute, Costa Rica, explained the GEONETCast Americas project in Costa Rica.

In the ensuing discussion participants highlighted: the link between oceans and the initiative’s four priorities, in particular disaster risk reduction (DRR); areas of linkages with WMO, including on climate change and DRR; and the need to be cautious of overdesigning governance, recognizing structures that are already in place that AmeriGEOSS could link with.