Earth Observation Summit

http://earthobservations.org

• The United States hosted the first Earth Observation Summit in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2003.

• The Summit generated high-level international support to link thousands of individual technological assets into a comprehensive global Earth observation system or systems.

• Senior international government and non-government leaders in science, technology and environment from 34 nations and the European Commission participated in the one-day Summit to discuss the societal value of integrating space-borne, airborne, and in situ observations, to help understand and address global, environmental and economic concerns.

• The need for improved earth observations has been recognized at the highest political levels.
  • At the 2003 G-8 Summit in Evian, France, the G-8 announced three science and technology priorities for agriculture, energy and Earth observations. The G-8 Action Plan on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development called for strengthening international cooperation on Earth observations.
  • The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 also called for greater integration of Earth observation systems.

• Participating Ministers adopted a Summit Declaration that recognizes the need to support development of a comprehensive, coordinated and sustained Earth observation system to help address critical environmental, economic and societal concerns. They also committed to developing a ten-year plan.

• The one-day Summit was immediately followed by a two-day working session of the ad hoc intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO).

• The GEO has four Co-Chairs: Rob Adam, Director-General, Department of Science and Technology, South Africa; Conrad Lautenbacher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, United States; Achilleas Mitsos, Director General for Research, European Commission; Akio Yuki, Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan

• At this inaugural GEO meeting, participating countries and international organizations began work to produce a 10-year implementation plan for a comprehensive and coordinated system or systems that will sustain and improve today’s Earth information services and products.

• The GEO has set an ambitious schedule, with a draft framework for the plan to be presented at the second Earth Observation Summit in Tokyo, Japan in April. The full implementation plan will be presented at the third Earth Observation Summit in Europe in early 2005.

The Cost of Uncertainty

• Gaps (“blind spots”) in understanding Earth and its complex natural systems severely limit our knowledge of how to address many concerns, such as drought, disease outbreaks, agricultural production, energy, and transportation challenges. New observation capabilities are required to address scientific uncertainties in key geophysical parameters, such as precipitation, soil moisture, and ocean salinity.
  • Our need for tools to predict severe weather at short notice and to monitor long-term atmospheric change has never been greater. According to a survey by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, in the last 25 years, natural disasters have affected 4.1 billion people and contributed to the loss of 1.3 million lives worldwide.¹
  • For example, in Europe, the economic and social costs of extreme weather have been significant: France recorded 11,435 weather-related mortalities in the first 2 weeks of August 2003 alone when temperatures soared over 40°C (104° F); fires in Portugal last summer caused over €1 billion in damage; the bill for repairing damage in Germany following the floods of summer 2002 was close to €15 billion and this year German farmers fear a loss of 80% of their crops because of the drought.
  • In the United States, more than $3 trillion of U.S. GDP is affected by climate and weather - including the agriculture, energy, construction, travel, and transportation industry sectors.²
  • In Japan, abnormally low temperatures in the summer of 2003 have been estimated to cost the country $2.7 billion in lost crops.
  • Some estimates project population to double in the next few decades, primarily in coastal areas. Improved, up-to-date environmental data is needed to plan for environmentally and economically sound growth and to develop more sustainable practices to protect valuable coastal ecosystems. Coastal crowding brings increased vulnerability to such natural hazards as flooding, hurricanes and tsunamis.

• The challenges are international. The storms and droughts generated by El Niño affect every corner of the world, demonstrating to every nation of the world that the Earth’s natural systems have no borders.

• For more information on the Earth Observation Summit and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) visit:  http://earthobservations.org; www.earthobservationsummit.gov

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¹ The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED): http://www.cred.be/
² Dutton, John A., Opportunities and priorities in a new era for weather and climate services, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, September 2002, pp. 1303-1311.