18 / 280
[
] 18
STATEMENT FROM MICHEL JARRAUD,
SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) evolved in 1950 from the International Meteorological
Organization (IMO), which in 1873 received from the First International Meteorological Congress the mandate for
the safety of life and the protection of property through the provision of services in weather and climate, and to
coordinate the appropriate observation systems. In 1951 WMO became a specialized agency of the United Nations
System and shortly thereafter, in 1959, it received an additional mandate in water. Today, the
vision
of WMO is to
provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in weather, climate, hydrology and water
resources and related environmental issues and thereby contribute to the safety and well being of people
throughout the world and to the economic benefit of all nations.
While 90% of natural disasters are of hydrometeorological origin, it is indeed possible to protect our societies
and to save lives through a clear understanding of the potential threats, reliable early warnings and efficient
disaster reduction and mitigation efforts. Systematic observations of weather, climate and water, as well as the
derived assessments, predictions and warnings are daily disseminated through WMO’s World Weather Watch and
the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of WMO’s 188 Members.
Building upon the well-established and consolidated services provided in their mandated areas of competence
by WMO and other organizations, a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) will provide a key
opportunity to serve additional users and to share a broader-scoped environmental monitoring and prediction
system with the global community. The possibility of new observational partnerships with organizations in such
diverse fields as food and energy production, human and ecosystems or health and biodiversity, will significantly
contribute to mitigate further the impacts of natural disasters and to increase the socio-economic benefits.
The Fifteenth World Meteorological Congress (Geneva, May 2007) endorsed the GEOSS concept as a key
initiative to enable WMO to better address the challenges of the coming decades, and emphasized that the relevant
WMO components should also be GEOSS components. WMO contributions to GEOSS would include WMO’s
unique systems as well as its co-sponsored systems. WMO participation in GEOSS would be on a basis of mutual
benefit, to maximize synergies and minimize duplication, and to facilitate the free and unrestricted exchange of
data, metadata and products, in particular to make available all
essential
data, as defined in WMO Resolution 40
(Cg-XII), through the GEO interoperable arrangements to serve the needs of the global community.
The Full Picture
comprises an excellent overview of WMO’s contributions towards GEOSS as well as expectations
in terms of what could be achieved as GEOSS develops into a true “
system of systems
”, to enable us to better
comprehend and monitor our planet, and to increasingly provide to the global community all the information that
is needed to meet and to respond to the challenges that societies will be facing in a changing environment.
Michel Jarraud
Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization