CEOS Plenary Delegate Report

Report on 12th Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Meeting

Bangalore, India

10-12th November 1998

Dr Graham Harris, Chief, CSIRO Land and Water
CSIRO CEOS Plenary Delegate

Much of significance has changed in the five years since I last attended meetings of CEOS. Now, of course, Australia has firm plans for a space hardware component (FEDSAT and ARIES) as well as its existing ground reception capabilities. However, what was previously a meeting at which the space agencies merely announced their mission plans for the next decade has turned into a forum at which plans for an Integrated Global Observation Strategy (IGOS) were discussed. The space agencies (principally NASA (USA), ESA (Europe) and NASDA (Japan) with a number of smaller players like the Canadians) are now much more focussed on outcomes and the coordination of an international strategy. Formerly this approach was only really seen in the actions of the operational meteorological agencies (NOAA (USA) and EUMETSAT (Europe)). The formation of IGOS was brokered by CEOS members. IGOS has been developed in response to the concern that budgets for space programs are falling across the board and that politicians will not fund them unless there are clear drivers in the form of coordinated international action on significant outcomes. A very 1990s picture!

The maturing of the climate and global change agendas now sees the major international global observation programs the so-called G3OS (GCOS, the Global Climate Observing System, GOOS, ditto Oceans, and GTOS, ditto, Terrestrial), the International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP) and the World Climate Research program (WCRP) merging with the inter-governmental agencies (WMO, FAO, UNEP, IOC ) and international science agencies (ICSU, UNESCO) into an IGOS partnership IGOS-P. Brian Embleton, previous COSSA Director and now Director of the CRC for Satellite Systems has played a major role in brokering such a partnership. Another important committee (on which Australia does not seem to be represented although I do remember discussions about this some years ago) is the International Group of Funding Agencies (IGFA).

The mechanism for discussions between CEOS and IGOS-P is proposed to be an intermediate group known as the Global Observing Systems Space Panel (GOSSP), a liaison committee of CEOS and IGOS-P with debateable powers. In its full implementation GOSSP would have the power set priorities and to dictate to space agencies and determine their future hardware construction plans. As yet this is a matter of debate, but it is a measure of how far we have come in a few short years that the space agencies were at least willing to debate the future role of GOSSP and to discuss its mandate and powers!

Much of the discussion at CEOS centred on the relationship between the IGOS-P and the space agencies (collectively represented by CEOS) and the focus was on to what extent IGOS-P would be able to determine the future programs of the space agencies. The debate continues but clearly the previous autonomy of the space agencies is being eroded rapidly. Much of the work of the 12th CEOS meeting was taken up with drafting documents which spelled out the developing relationships between CEOS and IGOS-P (copies of the full documentation for the meeting are held by COSSA.)

CEOS received reports from its two major working groups the Working group for Calibration and Validation (WGCV) and the Working Group for Information Systems and Services (WGISS). Australia is effectively represented on both working groups. They are important and representation on these committees must continue to be a high priority for Australia. In addition CEOS received reports from a series of pilot projects set up to act as a means of focussing activity on specific outcomes designed to act as drivers on future space program planning. Australia is also well represented on these pilot projects. The future of the pilot projects is unclear as we move from an interim state to a more formal liaison between CEOS and IGOS.

There is a strong relationship developing between the activities of IGOS (as implemented through WCRP and the G3OS) and the overall climate change and global carbon concerns in a post-Kyoto world. The Buenos Aires COP meeting (recently completed) passed a motion calling on governments to set up an effective global observation system to monitor progress and to provide an effective performance measurement system. This is seen as an important set forward.

In an even more significant action a number of important players in the European space business have issued the Baveno Manifesto named after the town where the meeting was held. Basically the Baveno Manifesto calls on the EC and ESA to set up a global observation capability for the reasons of environmental, food and national security. This looks forward to a time when knowledge of the status of global environmental conditions (land use, desertification, drought, water and food supplies) will be a matter of national security and raises the spectre of the need for Europe to have its own independent sources of intelligence and knowledge. This call for action foresees extensive consultation between EC members to institute political consensus and the development of an independent EC global environmental intelligence facility.

The upshot of all this is to reinforce the need for Australian research and operational agencies to be well plugged in to international developments and to ensure that we have effective representation at all levels in the various global environmental observation programs. At present we seem to be well enough represented but some coordination of our various means of influence would seem to be well advised.

One further area for development by CEOS that is quite new is the growing realisation that linkages to the commercial space hardware and services sector will have to be strengthened. (This again is a very 1990s agenda!) While CEOS cannot deal with individual space companies it has set itself the task of liaising with industry groups and societies over the next year. The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is a major player in this. In addition there is a role for regional industry associations to establish links to CEOS and though GOSSP to IGOS-P. Given recent Australian space developments this is an idea that requires some major thought over the coming year which could provide useful experiences that we can take to the CEOS plenary.

Of special interest was the view that NASA has as expressed by Ghassem Asrar (NASA Assistant Administrator for Earth Observation Programs). The NASA emphasis is now on high profile outcomes (economic and social as well as science), links to clients and practical applications of international significance (sounds familiar?). The game has changed significantly in ways that we can use for mutual benefit. In CLW we need to ensure we have effective links to NASA scientists and programs. Ghassem is right now looking at his own priorities and re-jigging his programs so we have a widow of opportunity. I think CSIRO and Australia also have significant opportunities to influence NASA's Outreach programs in the mutually important area of environmental sustainability.

To develop such opportunities, discussions were held during the CEOS meeting with Ghassem after contacts made through Miriam Baltuck (Australian NASA Representative in Canberra. It was clear that NASA is more and more interested in high profile outcomes and it is clear that there is a major opportunity for Australia and NASA to collaborate on large-scale projects. Such projects would benefit greatly from various sources of space based data - including Shuttle Interferometric Radar missions which would provide high-resolution digital elevation data. NASA sees such projects as a model for international collaboration.

The post-Kyoto agenda is, of course, a major international driver. In all cases there are major international collaborative opportunities for Australian scientists as we aim in the future to effectively link remotely sensed data to processes and modelling. In the future the IGOS forums will provide one avenue for the development of such international interest and the direct fostering of Australia's already good relationship with NASA and its programs offers another. The opportunities exist and it is up to us to seize them.