GEOSS Joint Asia – Africa
Water Cycle Symposium
Needs of Stakeholders and GEOSS Capability
25-27 November 2013Tokyo
Douglas Cripe
GEO Secretariat

Where is the water?

UNEP-GRID, 2008

Where does thewater go?

Km3, Rohwer et al., 2007
© GEO Secretariat

Water use
by sector

70% Agriculture
20% Industry
10% Domestic

UNEP-GRID, 2008
© GEO Secretariat

Dominant Sectors© GEO Secretariat

UNEP-GRID, 2008

Water Stress Indicator

UNEP-GRID, 2008
© GEO Secretariat

Water Scarcity

UNEP-GRID, 2008
© GEO Secretariat

End-Users: Research© GEO Secretariat

End-Users: Management© GEO Secretariat

Observational Data/Information
Needs
Global observations of water cycle variables
needed for 4 purposes:• to characterize variability, explore predicitability of
global energy and water cycle (requires longterm
records of significant climate and hydrologicindicators)• to understand complex processes involved in global
energy and water cycle in order to model them• to initialize models (NWP, GCM/RCM/CRM) (requires
observation-based determination of relevant stateparameters)• to develop decision support products/applications for
managment/sustainable develoment of the world’s
water resources (and other water-dependent
environmental resources)© GEO Secretariat

Primary EWVs

Supplemental EWVs (Apply to Waterand other SBAs)

Precipitation

Surface Meteorology

Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

Surface and Atmospheric Radiation
Budgets

Snow Cover (including Snow Water
Equivalent, Depth, Freeze Thaw
Margins)

Clouds and Aerosols

Soil Moisture/Temperature

Permafrost

GroundwaterLand Cover, Vegetation and Land Use

Runoff/Streamflow/River Discharge

Elevation/ Topography and Geological
Stratification

Lakes/ Reservoir Levels and Aquifer
Volumetric Change

Surface Meteorology

Glaciers/ ice sheets

Surface and Atmospheric Radiation
Budgets

Water Quality

Clouds and Aerosols

Water Use/Demand (Agriculture,Hydrology, Energy, Urbanization)

Permafrost© GEO Secretariat

GEOSS Response: Work Plan
1 Infrastructure• Observation networks• Access to EO
2 Institutions & Develoment• Data Sharing• Capacity Building
3 Societal Benefits• Water Task
• Coordination© GEO Secretariat

GEOSS Response: Work Plan
1 Infrastructure• Observation networks• Access to EO
2 Institutions & Development• Data Sharing• Capacity Building
3 Societal Benefits• Water Task
• Coordination© GEO Secretariat

GEOSS Provides CoordinatedAccess to Information from Various Sources© GEO Secretariat

Discovery & Access(Metadata & Data)

GCI: Enabling a
System of Systems
GEO
Home Page

GEOSS
PortalChile Road Network& Admin Area

Discovery(Metadata)

Webservice
EnergyTo bebrokered

GEOSS Response: Work Plan
1 Infrastructure• Observation networks• Access to EO
2 Institutions & Development• Data Sharing• Capacity Building
3 Societal Benefits• Water Task
• Coordination© GEO Secretariat

GEOSS Implementation requires:
Data Sharing Principles• Full and Open Exchange of Data…
– Recognizing Relevant International Instruments
and National Policies and Legislation• Data and Products at Minimum Time delay
and Minimum Cost
• Free of Charge or Cost of Reproduction for
Research and Education

GEO Approach to Capacity
Building• Build on existing efforts and best practices;• Fostercollaboration
andpartnership,especially with and between developing
countries, all levels, across all SBAs
• Concentrateon
end-to-end
Earthobservation needs in each of GEO’s SBAs,
including user requirements; data access,collection, archiving and analysis; andproduct development and exchange© GEO Secretariat

GEO Approach to Capacity
Building• Enhance the sustainability of existing andfuture Earth observation capacity building
efforts by building awareness amongst
decision makers in developing countries; and• Facilitate
thedevelopmentofcomprehensive, sustainable capacity building
efforts that address infrastructure capacity
needs, education and training, and building
local institutional capacity.

© GEO Secretariat

Priority Actions•GEO Strategy:– Infrastructure, Institutions, Individuals•

Strengthen Earth observation capacity building
networks––––––

facilitating exchange of ideas and best practices;
promoting new collaborative opportunities;
encouraging personnel exchanges for training purposes;
maintaining rosters of experts in water sector;
facilitating the sharing of human and technical resources;
promoting the sharing of data, the standardization ofmethods, information, reports and articles.

© GEO Secretariat

Priority Actions
••
•
•
•
•
•

Enabling capacity building through the GEOSS Web
PortalSustainable Technology Transfer and Training
Access to Data Sets That Fulfill Specific User
Requirements
Fill in-situ data gaps
Promoting the development and use of open sourcesoftwareFacilitating the development of national andregional capacity
Engaging donors through a coordinated approach toEarth observation capacity building priorities© GEO Secretariat

GEOSS Response: Work Plan
1 Infrastructure• Observation networks• Access to EO
2 Institutions & Development• Data Sharing• Capacity Building
3 Societal Benefits• Water Task
• Coordination© GEO Secretariat

Water
Before 2015, GEO aims to:

Produce comprehensive sets of data and information
products to support decision-making for efficientmanagement of the world's water resources, based on
coordinated, sustained observations of the water cycle onmultiple scales.

WA-01 Integrated Water Information(incl. Floods and Droughts)
Components:
C1: Integrated Water-cycle Products and Services
C2: Information Systems for Hydro-meteorological Extremes(incl. Floods and Droughts)
C3: Information Service for Cold Regions
C4: Global Water-Quality Products and Services
C5: Information System Development and Capacity Building

GEO-Water-SBA
Terrestrial Water Cycle Resources
Water SBA Sub-Areas:• Surface Waters and Fluxes– Primarily Land Surface Water Cycle Processes• Ground Water Processes– Including Recharge/Discharge & Regolith Processes• Forcing Elements on Terrestrial Hydrology– Surface Meteorology/Hydromet, Surface Radiation budget andClouds, etc• Water Quality & Water Use– Including Organic, Inorganic, Isotopic & Nutrient/Contaminant
Fluxes, and E.g., Water Demand/Draw/Regulation etc)
© GEO Secretariat

African Water Cycle Coordination
Initiative: contributing to GEOSS
Key messages regarding challenges facing Africa in
the water sector:• lack of access to data and data sharing• lack of infrastructure for collecting and analyzingdata• lack of funding and resources• need for capacity building, enhancement ofcapabilities , and retention of expertise• political buy-in and role of national government is
critical to the success of any initiativeAfrican Water Cycle Coordination
Initiative: contributing to GEOSS
Participants considered convergence and harmonization ofobservational activities, techniques, interoperability
arrangements, and effective and comprehensive data
management as the most fundamental elements that canbe addressed under the GEOSS framework, including
activities, programs and guidelines under UN agencies andnon-UN agencies (AfDB, ESA, JAXA, NASA etc .).
from the 1st African Water Cycle Symposium in Tunis© GEO Secretariat

In practice…
• GEOSS Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI)• GEOSSAfrican Water Cycle Coordination Initiative(AfWCCI)• Communidad para la Información Espacial e
Hidrologica en Latino-america y el Caribe (CIEHLYC)• ITC– GEONETCast toolbox• FP7– EnviroGRIDS, DEWFORA, Afro-Maison, etc…

• Global Drought Information System (GDIS)• Afri-GEOSS• TIGER, DRAGON, SERVIR, etc.
© GEO Secretariat

Issues: GEOSS TargetedGaps•••••••

Lack of access to data and associated benefits indeveloping world
Eroding technical infrastructure
Large spatial and temporal gaps in specific data sets
Inadequate data integration and interoperability
Uncertainty over continuity of observations
Inadequate user involvement
Lack of relevant processing systems to transform
data into useful information© GEO Secretariat

“The Global Earth Observation System ofSystems (GEOSS) is a coordinating andintegrating network of Earth observing andinformation systems, contributed on a
voluntary basis by Members and Participating
Organizations of the intergovernmental
Group on Earth Observations (GEO).”•To support informed decision making for society,including the implementation of international
environmental treaty obligations.
© GEO Secretariat

© GEO Secretariat

Thank you!
earthobservations.org
dcripe@geosec.org

WA-01 linkages…
• In-situ systems• Resources & research– GEOWOW: GEOSS interoperability for Weather, Oceans
Water– Water Information System– Horizon 2020
– Belmont Forum• Engaging the end-users– Science stakeholders– IWRM• Collaboration with other SBAs
– Agriculture SBA– Health SBA– Blue PlanetWA-01 linkages…
• World Water Catalogue / World Water
Services Online• Model web• Global Initiatives– GEO BON, GFOI, GEOGLAM• GEO-WON?
– Adaptation to climate change– Disaster risk reduction– MDGs / SDBs
– Water-energy-food nexus

Current Status of Earth Observation
Capacity Building Initiatives••••••••

Limited access to capacity building resources;
Lack of e-science infrastructure for Earth observation
education and training;
Need for criteria and standards for Earth observation
capacity building;Gaps between Earth observation research andoperational application;
Connectivity inefficiency between providers and users ofEarth observation systems;
Need for cooperation within and between developed anddeveloping countries and regions;
Lack of awareness about the value of Earth observations
among decision makers; andDuplication of Earth observation capacity building
efforts.
© GEO Secretariat