U.S. Delegation at USGEO stand / GEO-X Summit in Geneva
The U.S. Delegation to GEO-X, including Dr. Patrick Gallagher, Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Acting NOAA administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, participated in a presentation by NASA's Dr. Michael Freilich at the USGEO stand.
From January 13 to 17, 2014 Geneva’s CICG center was site of a major international conference and exhibit aimed at improving access to critical information on the global environment. The GEO-X Plenary and Geneva Ministerial Summit brought together experts from 90 governments and nearly 70 organizations and will include an exhibit of cutting edge technology and more than 30 forums and panel discussions, many open to the general public. Topics will include Agriculture and Food Security, Measuring Biodiversity, Disaster Risk Reduction, Cholera Early Warning, Ocean Acidification, UNEP Live!, and Water Security. The summit will be presided over by GEO’s four co-chairs: China, the European Commission, South Africa and the United States. The United States will be represented at GEO-X by a high level multiagency delegation.
For nearly a decade, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has been driving the interoperability of thousands of individual space-based, airborne and in situ Earth observations around the world. Often these separate systems yield just snapshot assessments, leading to critical gaps in scientific understanding. GEO is addressing such gaps by providing easy, open access to organized observations that enable an increasingly integrated view of our changing Earth. Summit participants will look at how the international community can increase the sustainability and quality of observation networks and make the maximum possible volume of data freely accessible. For sound science to shape sound policy, leaders and other decision-makers require this fuller picture as an indispensable foundation of environmental decision-making.
U.S. Mission Geneva / Eric Bridiers