IOC Governance of IODE

Decisions on IODE by IOC-XXVII (26 June - 5 July 2013)

Decision IOC-XXVII/Dec. 5.3.4.

            The Assembly,

Having examined the Executive Summary and Report of the 22^nd Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE-XXII) (11–15 March 2013, Ensenada, Mexico), the recommendations and the decision contained therein (IOC/IODE-XXII/3s);

Decides to take action in accordance with the Recommendations adopted by IODE-XXII;

Endorses the IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Management 2013-2016 as given in annex to the report of IODE-XXII (IOC/IODE-XXII/3s);

Agrees that the Plan should be:

(i)          published and distributed widely and used as a basic data strategy throughout the Programmes and Projects of the IOC; and

(ii)         regularly reviewed and revised by the IODE Committee, in close consultation with all IOC programmes;

Notes the financial and human resource implications of the work plan and the shortfall against the draft IOC Programme and Budget allocation for IODE, especially for regional activities and OBIS, exacerbated by the financial situation of the IOC;

Agrees to the IODE Work Plan for 2013–2015 (Recommendation IODE-XXII.20) and to consider it in the overall IOC Programme and Budget Resolution XXVII/DR.(6.1,6.2);

Expresses its deep appreciation to the Government of Flanders (Belgium) for hosting and supporting the IOC Project Office for IODE and for its continuing and increasing financial support to IODE, the Russian Federation for its support through the hosting of the Partnership Centre for the IODE Ocean Data Portal in Obninsk, as well as to other donors and Member States who are providing financial and in-kind support for IODE;

Expresses its appreciation for the in-kind support for the IODE Programme provided by Member States through establishing and maintaining IODE Data Centres, provision of experts, through the provision of valuable ocean data and information products and services, and through financial and in-kind contributions to IOC;

Urges Member States to support the IODE Work Plan through cash contributions to the IOC Special Accounts for IODE and OBIS, secondments of staff members to the IODE Project Office, in-kind support such as hosting meetings or workshops with participant funding, the establishment of IODE partnership centres or OceanTeacher Regional Training Centres, or the funding of IODE or OBIS Projects or the establishment of NODCs.

Decision IOC-XXVII, Dec. 5.3.4.1.

            The Assembly,

Recalling its decision to accept the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) within the IODE Programme, through Resolution XXV-4,

Recognizing OBIS plays a key role to address the increasing need for more, and accurate, time-series data on marine biodiversity to monitor the state of the marine environment and to better understand the ecosystem processes and potential impacts of climate change, in order to more effectively manage our marine living resources,

Recalling that the 193 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Decision COP10/29,10&35) requested Member States to further enhance globally networked scientific efforts, such as OBIS, to continue to update a comprehensive and accessible global database of all forms of life in the sea, and further assess and map the distribution and abundance of species in the sea, and called upon IOC/OBIS to facilitate availability and inter-operability of the best available marine and coastal biodiversity data sets and information across global, regional and national scales,

Having considered the report of OBIS (IOC/INF-1312) and the contribution of OBIS to all three Expected Results 6, 7 and 8 in the IOC Draft Programme and Budget for 2014–2017 (IOC-XXVII/2 Annex 4),

Recalls Resolution XXV-4, requesting the Executive Secretary of IOC to request to the Director General of UNESCO to create a full time post for OBIS;

Expresses its appreciation to Belgium, USA, India, and Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  for their in-kind support to technical developments of OBIS;

Agrees that the regular budget for these activities will be considered as part of the overall IOC Programme and Budget resolution XXVII/DR.(6.1, 6.2);

Agrees further that without direct funding from UNESCO’s regular programme, Member States will need to take up responsibility to enable the IOC to fulfil the commitment it made to the continuation and further development of OBIS;

Urges Member States to provide cash contributions to the IOC Special Account for OBIS, to continue the two OBIS professional staff positions at the IODE Project Office, secondments to the IODE Project Office earmarked for OBIS, in-kind support such as hosting meetings or workshops with participant funding, or other means as agreed by the SG-OBIS.

Decisions on IODE by IOC-XXVI (22 June - 5  July 2011)

Resolution XXVI-10

INTERNATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE (IODE)

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,

Having considered the Executive Summary and Report of the Twenty-first Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IOC/IODE-XXI/3; Liege, Belgium, 23–26 March 2011), and the recommendations contained therein,

Recalling its decision to accept the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) within the IODE Programme through Resolution XXV-4,

Recognizing:

1. the role of IODE as a programme that underpins all IOC activities and as a global system that facilitates and promotes the exchange of all marine data and information,

1. the continued importance of comprehensive, real-time, near-real-time, and delayed-mode, long-term and high-quality data sets as well as the growing importance of ocean biogeographic information for the investigation of global change issues,

1. the need for all IOC Member States to have national capacity in oceanographic data and information management, as well as equitable access to oceanographic data and information,

Acknowledging:

1. the continuing role of IODE in the Joint WMO–IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) Data Management Programme Area,

1. the close cooperation between IOC/IODE and WMO through the Joint Steering Group for the IODE Ocean Data Portal and the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) Pilot Project for JCOMM,

1. the leading role of IODE in capacity-building, in particular through its Ocean Data and Information Networks (ODINs), the OceanTeacher (and OceanTeacher Academy project), and the extensive training programme organized at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium,

Expresses its appreciation to :

1. the Government of Flanders (Belgium), the Flanders Marine Institute and the city of Ostend for their continuing support of the IOC Project Office for IODE, to the Government of Belgium for its hosting and support of the Twenty-first Session of the IODE Committee and to the Government of China for providing a secondment to the IOC Project Office for IODE,

1. Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States of America for their financial contributions, and to Belgium, India, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) for their  in-kind support  for OBIS;

Takes note of the Report of the Twenty-first Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IOC/IODE-XXI/3) and the Recommendations therein, and decides to take the following actions:

1. continue the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium (Recommendation IODE-XXI.1);

1. accept the offer of the Government of Flanders (Belgium) to continue hosting the Office in Ostend, Belgium and request the Executive secretary to undertake the necessary administrative arrangements to renew the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Flanders (Belgium) through the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in accordance with the Guidelines for the Structure and Responsibilities of the Subsidiaries Bodies of the Commission and the Establishment of Centralized Offices[1]; (Recommendation IODE-XXI.2);

1. establish an IODE Group of Experts for OBIS (Recommendation IODE-XXI.3) as well as an IODE Steering Group for OBIS (Recommendation IODE-XXI.2);

1. revise the Terms of Reference of the IOC Committee on IODE, adding a reference to compliance with the IOC Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy (Recommendation IODE-XXI.4);

1. establish the IOC Project Office for IODE/OBIS (Recommendation IODE-XXI.5);

1. accept the offer of Rutgers University, U.S.A. to host the IOC Project Office for IODE/OBIS and request the IOC Executive Secretary to make the necessary administrative arrangements with the United States and Rutgers University for the establishment of the Office (Recommendation IODE-XXI.5);

Urges IOC Member States to increase their participation in international oceanographic data and information exchange through the establishment and/or strengthening of national oceanographic data centres (NODCs), marine information management (Marine Libraries) infrastructures and OBIS nodes;

Further urges all IOC Member States, programmes and relevant organizations to collaborate with the IODE Ocean Data Portal by establishing data provider nodes that contribute relevant data to the distributed system;

Requests all IOC Programmes to actively collaborate with, and make use of, the Ocean Data and Information Networks (ODINs) as a common platform for capacity development in developing regions, as well as with the OceanTeacher Academy project which aims at providing a comprehensive curriculum of training courses related to ocean data and information management for all IOC Member States;

Invites WMO to continue and increase its support to JCOMM in general, and to the JCOMM Data Management Programme Area (DMPA) in particular, and to actively collaborate with the OceanTeacher Academy project as well as with other IODE activities, as relevant to JCOMM;

Welcomes the proposal by the Government of India through the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Ministry of Earth Sciences, to establish an International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography at INCOIS, Hyderabad, India, and requests the Executive Secretary to further discuss the modalities of its establishment as a contribution to IOC;

Invites IOC Member States to assist in the implementation of the IODE Work Plan 2011–2013, through the provision of extrabudgetary funds and/or secondment of experts to the IOC Project Office for IODE or IOC Project Office for IODE/OBIS.

Decisions on IODE by IOC-XXV (16-25 June 2009)

The IOC Assembly, during its 25th Session adopted the following Resolution on IODE:

INTERNATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE (IODE)

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,

1    Having considered the Executive Summary and Report of the 20th Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE-XX; Beijing, China, 4-8 May 2009), and the Recommendations contained therein,

2    Recalling its decision to revise the objectives of the IODE through Resolution XXIII-4 thereby including “to support international scientific and operational marine programmes of IOC and WMO and their sponsor organizations with advice and data management services”,

3    Recalling further its adoption of the IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Management through Resolution XXIV-9 and the important role of IODE therein,

4    Recognizing:
(i)    the role of IODE as a programme that underpins all IOC activities and as a global system that facilitates and promotes the exchange of all marine data and information,
(ii)    the continued importance of comprehensive, real time, near real time, and delayed mode, long-term and high-quality data sets for the investigation of global change issues,
(iii)    the need for all IOC Member States to have national capacity in oceanographic data and information management as well as equitable access to oceanographic data and information, and
(iv)    the potential role of the IODE programme, its network of National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs) and its emerging Ocean Data Portal project as an IOC contribution to the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)/Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS),

5    Acknowledging:
(i)    the considerable efforts made by the IODE Committee to review and adjust its programme to face new challenges and improve national as well as international arrangements for oceanographic data and information management and exchange, with special attention to operational oceanography,
(ii)    the active and expanding role of IODE in the Joint WMO–IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) Data Management Programme Area,
(iii)    the close cooperation between IOC/IODE and WMO through the Joint Steering Group for the IODE Ocean Data Portal and the WIGOS Pilot Project for JCOMM,
(iv)    the leading role of IODE in capacity-building, in particular through its Ocean Data and Information Networks (ODINs), the OceanTeacher (and OceanTeacher Academy project), and the extensive training programme organized at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium,

6    Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Flanders (Belgium), the Flanders Marine Institute and the city of Oostende for their continuing support of the IOC Project Office for IODE, to the Government of China for its hosting and support of the 20th Session of the IODE Committee, to the United States and to the Republic of Korea for their financial support to the IODE programme in 2008-2009;

7    Endorses the Report of the Twentieth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE-XX) and the recommendations contained therein, and decides to take the following action:
(i)    revise the Terms of Reference of the JCOMM/IODE Expert Team on Data Management Practices (ETDMP) including its membership (Recommendation IODE-XX.1), subject to approval by JCOMM/WMO;
(ii)    continue and strengthen the Oceanographic Data and Information Network (ODIN) projects, as cross-cutting and integrated capacity-building, observation and product development platforms, in all regions;
(iii)    continue and strengthen the IODE Ocean Data Portal Pilot Project as a mechanism to integrate marine data from a number of distributed sources both in the network of NODCs and from other participating systems;
(iv)    continue and strengthen the Ocean Data Standards Pilot Project with the aim of consolidating a set of standards that will provide interoperability between Members States of IODE, JCOMM and the broader oceanographic data community;
(v)    continue the OceanTeacher Academy project as a comprehensive knowledge base and training tool related to oceanographic data and information management, serving the needs of IOC programmes and JCOMM, and
(vi)    continue the activities of the IOC Project Office for IODE, with special attention to its leading role in IOC capacity-building through training;

8    Encourages all IOC Member States, Programmes and relevant organizations to collaborate with the Ocean Data Standards Pilot Project, by submitting standards for consideration by, and contributing to, the evaluation process, and to apply adopted standards at the earliest opportunity;

9    Urges IOC Member States to increase their participation in international oceanographic data and information exchange through the establishment and/or strengthening of national oceanographic data centres (NODCs) and marine information management (Marine Libraries) infrastructures;

10    Further urges all IOC Member States, Programmes and relevant organizations to collaborate with the IODE Ocean Data Portal by establishing data provider nodes that contribute relevant data to the distributed system, in accordance with Recommendation IODE-XX.3;

11    Requests all IOC programmes to actively collaborate with, and make use of, the Ocean Data and Information Networks (ODINs) as a common platform for capacity development in developing regions, as well as with the OceanTeacher Academy project which aims at providing a comprehensive curriculum of training courses related to ocean data and information management for all IOC Member States;

12    Invites WMO to continue and increase its support to JCOMM in general, and to the JCOMM Data Management Programme Area (DMPA) in particular, and to actively collaborate with the OceanTeacher Academy project as well as with other IODE activities, as relevant to JCOMM;

13    Invites IOC Member States to assist in the implementation of the IODE Work Plan 2009–2011, through the provision of extra-budgetary funds and/or secondment of experts to the IOC Project Office for IODE.

in addition the Assembly adopted the following Resolution on OBIS:

THE OCEAN BIOGEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (OBIS)

    The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,

1    Noting the great progress that has taken place under the Global Census of Marine Life (CoML) programme and that this ten-year initiative, to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans, will conclude at the end of 2010,

2    Gratefully acknowledging the foresight shown and the support given to CoML by the Sloan Foundation,

3    Recalling the expression of support at the start of the CoML and its associated Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) from the 33rd Session of the Executive Council and the instruction to the IOC Secretariat to develop an appropriate mechanism for IOC involvement in the Census,

4    Further Recalling that subsequent IOC Executive Councils and Assemblies have welcomed the progress achieved and called for continued interaction with this activity, in particular IOC Resolution XXIII-3 that encouraged the integration of OBIS into IODE and the 39th Session of the IOC Executive Council that called for continued development of the interaction between  the Commission and CoML,

5    Appreciating the Resolution of the UN General Assembly A/RES/63/111, that inter alia reiterates “… its serious concern over the current and projected adverse effects of climate change on the marine environment and marine biodiversity, and emphasizing the urgency of addressing this issue”, and “encourages States, individually or in collaboration with relevant international organizations and bodies, to enhance their scientific activity to better understand the effects of climate change on the marine environment and marine biodiversity and develop ways and means of adaptation”,

6    Recognizing that an OBIS Programme within the IOC will create a valuable source of information, inter alia,  for DIVERSITAS, UNESCO/MAB Programme and UNESCO’s Strategy for Action on Climate Change, as well as for a wide range of other users within and outside the United Nations,

7    Recognizing also that OBIS has an important role to play in contributing to external intergovernmental and international organizations dealing with global fisheries, environmental and biodiversity issues including, but not restricted to, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the Group on Earth Observations – Biodiversity Observations Network, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and that this role should be continued and expanded in the future,

8    Recalling the request from the OBIS Governing Board and the decision of the IOC Executive Council at its 41st Session to consider possible scenarios for a future home for OBIS within the IOC, by concentrating on the possibility of the creation of an IOC/OBIS Programme and an IOC/OBIS Programme Office,

9    Acknowledging that CoML, and the research, information and data it has generated, provides an important tool for the international community to use in the development of policies for ocean and coastal management and to address the critical issues related to climate change,

10    Acknowledging also that the commitment of IOC and UNEP with regard to the UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/30 for an Assessment of Assessments, leading to a regular review of the state of the ocean environment, would not be feasible without access to the science, information and data on marine biodiversity, such as that accumulated under OBIS,

11    Noting with appreciation the agreement of the OBIS Governing Board, in April 2009, to the adoption of OBIS by IOC,

12    Decides:
(i)    to accept OBIS within the IODE Programme and start its integration on a schedule that will ensure a smooth transition of OBIS into IOC as its responsibilities and funding under the CoML are completed;
(ii)    to request the OBIS Governing Board to continue oversight of OBIS until the completion of the CoML 2010 Synthesis, in an advisory capacity, in consultation with the IODE Officers;
(iii)    to maintain the identity and visibility of OBIS within IOC, taking into account the interest and commitment built up within the ocean biodiversity research community over the last decade, including the ability to interact with other relevant intergovernmental and international bodies;

13    Requests the IOC Executive Secretary:
(i)    to undertake the administrative arrangements necessary for OBIS activities to  continue under the auspices of IOC and its IODE Programme;
(ii)    to set up a multi-source fund within the IOC Trust Fund for the support of OBIS and to keep the IOC Member States fully informed of the commitments made and the adequacy of the resources available;
(iii)    to investigate and establish cooperation with, and support from relevant research organizations, marine research stations, networks and other stakeholders;
(iv)    to take the necessary actions for the creation of an extra-budgetary OBIS Programme Officer position, and the preparation of documentation to the Director-General and the UNESCO Executive Board requesting a regular programme post for the OBIS Programme at the earliest opportunity;
(v)    to explore a formal agreement for the hosting of an IOC Programme Office for OBIS with the current host institution of the OBIS Secretariat at Rutgers University, NJ, USA,
(vi)    to draft, in close consultation with the OBIS Governing Board, the Regional OBIS Node (RON) Management Group and IODE Officers, terms of reference for an OBIS Group of Experts, to be established under IODE;
(vii)    to draft, in close consultation with the IODE Officers, revised terms of reference for the IODE Committee, taking into account the extended mandate of the Committee through the adoption of OBIS;
(viii)    to report on progress and submit the necessary items for consideration and decision to the next Session of the IOC Executive Council in 2010;

14    Urges Member States:
(i)    to contribute to the OBIS multi-source fund within the IOC Trust Fund;
(ii)    to consider other financial and/or in-kind support for OBIS to assist with its technical and research activities;
(iii)    to facilitate the collaboration of RONs and other OBIS data providers in the intergovernmental framework of IOC and its IODE Programme.

____________________________________________________________________________________

IODE discussions at IOC/EC-XLI (22 June - 1 July 2008)

4.5.1 Report on the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Programme

The Co-Chairman of IODE, Mr Greg Reed, introduced this item (his presentation, with audio, is available HERE ). The objective of the First IODE–JCOMM Forum on Oceanographic Data Management and Exchange Standards (IOC Project Office for IODE, Ostend, 21–25 January 2008) was to reach a general agreement on and a commitment to adopting key standards related to ocean data management, so as to facilitate exchange between oceanographic institutions. Standards discussed at the Forum included: (i) metadata; (ii) ontology resources; (iii) data and time; (iv) latitude and longitude; (v) country codes; (vi) platforms; (vii) quality control; and (viii) vocabularies. The Forum agreed that the process to adopt and formally publish proposed standards should include exposure to the wider community for comment. An ad hoc Steering Team was established to manage and implement the agreed work plan. The Forum recommended that the task of continuing the development of standards and managing the standards process should be assigned to the IODE–JCOMM ETDMP.

The IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Management (2008–2011), adopted by the IOC Assembly at its 24th Session (Paris, 19–28 June 2007), established an IOC Data and Information Management Advisory Group to provide the governance required to implement the Strategy. The 1st Session of the Data and Information Management Advisory Group is planned for the third quarter of 2008.

IODE now actively participates as a partner in the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) Pilot Project for JCOMM. The aim of this Pilot Project is to promote and develop integration of marine and other appropriate observations into the WIGOS through three core deliverables: (i) integration of instrument best practices; (ii) development of interoperable arrangements between the ocean data systems and the WMO Information System (WIS); and (iii) the integration of quality-management systems. Achieving the full interoperability of the IODE Ocean Data Portal (ODP) and the WIS will be addressed by the Pilot Project. Interoperability will guarantee access to ocean data by the meteorological, hydrological and climate research and operational community and access of meteorological, hydrological and climate data by the oceanographic research and operational community. Development of standards and their wide acceptance within the meteorological and oceanographic communities is also an important activity that will be addressed by the Pilot Project, and this links naturally with the development of the IODE–JCOMM standards process. A Joint Steering Group for the IODE Ocean Data Portal (ODP) and the WIGOS Pilot Project for JCOMM has been established and will meet in September 2008.

The IODE continues to implement the Ocean Data and Information Network (ODIN) strategy. The ODINAFRICA-III project concludes in 2008 and a proposal for the next phase is in preparation and will be submitted for funding later this year. This new phase of the project will focus on networking activities and the development of regional products, such as common catalogues and directories integrating global standards and controlled vocabularies, to provide access to available marine data and data products for Africa.

Two marine atlas projects are in progress. The African Marine Atlas (www.africanmarineatlas.net) integrates geo-referenced data sets available in the public domain, with multidisciplinary data sets developed and maintained by the African NODCs. The USA welcomed the data atlases and ODINAFICA initatitivs and encouraged identification and support for the follow-up of the ODS.

The Caribbean Marine Atlas Pilot Project (www.caribbeanmarineatlas.net/), a joint initiative of nine countries in the Caribbean region (Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands) will identify, collect and organize available geo-spatial data sets into an atlas of environmental themes for the Caribbean region, as a support service to the sustainable development and integrated management of marine and coastal areas in the region. The Pilot Project has a scheduled duration of 14 months (October 2007–December 2008).

Japan recalled that WESTPAC-VII had assigned high priority to the ODINWESTPAC Pilot Project and it thanked the Government of China for accepting the responsibility of coordinating the implementation of the Pilot Project. Referring further to the importance for IODE of addressing biochemical data management and related quality control, Japan offered to contribute a JODC Publication on this topic.

China restated its Government’s offer to host the 20th Session of the IOC Committee on IODE, in Tianjin, China, in April or May 2009.

The Executive Council welcomed and accepted this kind offer.

Sri Lanka, while expressing satisfaction with the establishment of the ODINCINDIO project in 2004, noted the lack of action during the past year, and called on IOC/IODE and IOCINDIO Member States to re-invigorate the project.

(an intervention of Sri Lanka, submitted during the adoption of the draft summary report will be added)

The Representative of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) described the Institute's cooperation with IOC and its IODE as an encouraging example of the implementation of the UNGA decision on cooperation between governmental and non-governmental organizations. He expressed IOI’s appreciation of IODE’s support for the development of the IOI and the IOI OceanLearn web sites. He also referred to the Joint IODE–IOI Training Course on GIS and Remote Sensing (2006), which had received high praise. He invited IOC/IODE to continue its close cooperation with the IOI and to develop a work plan for the coming years.

The Executive Council welcomed the development of the Ocean Data Portal technology, as well as the success of the IODE Training Course on an End-to-End Data Management (E2EDM) Prototype System (IODE Project Office, Ostend, Belgium, 22–25 October 2007), and called on the participants in this Course to implement the acquired expertise.

The Executive Council, referring to the observations made during the discussion on IPY at the present session (Agenda Item 4.3.1), noted some of the difficulties in establishing cooperation between IODE and IPY, and called on their respective Secretariats to further investigate the potential for greater involvement of IODE in the management and long-term archival of IPY data, possibly through the Southern Oceans Observing System (SOOS) and the cooperation with CoML/OBIS.

The Executive Council thanked the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Flanders (Belgium) for their support to the IODE–JCOMM Forum on Oceanographic Data Management and Exchange Standards (IOC Project Office for IODE, Ostend, Belgium, 21–25 January 2008). The Executive Council called on all IOC Member States to actively participate in the Ocean Data Standard Pilot Project (ODS) by providing experts and financial support to enable a follow-up Forum.

The Chairman of I-GOOS, Dr François Gérard, expressed his appreciation of the Ocean Data Standards Pilot Project: the pooling of efforts in this regard was in line with the GOOS efforts to develop operational oceanography.

The Executive Council considered the IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Management as a new milestone in the history of IOC and welcomed the establishment of the IOC Data and Information Management Advisory Group. It noted that the Group would serve two purposes: (i) to guide IODE towards the development of integrated data management and multi-disciplinary data bases, and (ii) to provide a link between IODE and other organizations, including science groups.

The Executive Council requested the Executive Secretary in future, in the preparation of the operational plan, for every project that IOC undertakes, and that has impact on data and information, that the budgetary implications be identified together with a clear description of the expected outcomes from IODE.

The Executive Council expressed its appreciation of the continued support by the Government of Flanders to the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium, noting that this facility had already increased the effectiveness, visibility and impact of IODE considerably. It called on the Government of Flanders (Kingdom of Belgium) and other IOC Member States to continue supporting this facility.

The Executive Council called on IODE to play an active role in the 50th Anniversary celebrations of IOC and identified the 20th Session of the IOC technical Committee for IODE as a suitable occasion.

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IODE discussions at IOC-XXIV (19-28 June 2007)

Documents distributed:

• Document IOC/IODE-XIX/3s: Executive Summary Report of the NIneteenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, Trieste, Italy, 12-16 March 2007
• Document IOC/IODE-XIX/3: Report of the NIneteenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, Trieste, Italy, 12-16 March 2007
• Document IOC/INF-1236: Improving the IOC's Performance Management System: IODE reporting as a pilot project
• Document IOC-XXIV/2 Annex 7: IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Management (2008-2011) (Draft)

IOC-XXIV adopted Resolution xxiv-8 "International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE)":

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,

Having considered the Executive Summary and Report of the Nineteenth Session of the
IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE-XIX),
Trieste, Italy 12-16 March 2007, and the Recommendations contained therein,

Recalling its decision to revise the objectives of the IODE through Resolution XXIII-4
thereby including “to support international scientific and operational marine programmes of
IOC and WMO and their sponsor organizations with advice and data management services”,

Recognizing:

1. the role of IODE as a programme that underpins all IOC activities and as a global
   system that facilitates and promotes the exchange of all marine data and information,
2. the continued importance of comprehensive, long-term and high quality data sets for the investigation of global change issues,
3. the need for all IOC Member States to have national capacity in oceanographic data
   and information management as well as equitable access to oceanographic data and information, and
4. the potential role of the IODE programme and its network of the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs) as a focus for ocean data and information in the Group on Earth Observations (GEO)/Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS).

Acknowledging:

1. the considerable efforts made by the IODE Committee to review and adjust its
   programme to face new challenges and improve national as well as international
   arrangements for oceanographic data and information management and exchange,
   with special attention to operational oceanography,
2. the active role of IODE in the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for
   Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) Data Management Programme
   Area, and
3. the leading role of IODE and its Project Office in capacity building.
   Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Flanders (Kingdom of Belgium), the Flanders Marine Institute and the city of Ostend for their continuing support of the IOC Project Office for IODE, to the Government of Italy for its hosting and support of the Nineteenth Session of the IODE Committee, and to the United States of America for its financial support provided in 2006 and 2007 to the IODE programme;

Decides to take action as follows:

1. establish the Ocean Data Portal project as a system that will provide seamless
   access to marine data across the IODE network of NODCs;
2. continue and strengthen the Oceanographic Data and Information Network (ODIN)
   projects, as cross-cutting and integrated capacity building, observation and product development platforms, in all regions;
3. establish the IOC Harmful Algal Events Information System as a joint
   Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms (IPHAB)-IODE activity, combining
   the scientific expertise of the HAB community with the data and information
   management expertise of the IODE network;
4. establish the OceanDocs project as a mechanism and tool to make scientific literature available to all in an equitable way ;
5. continue the OceanTeacher project as a comprehensive knowledge base and training tool related to oceanographic data and information management, serving the needs of IOC programmes and JCOMM; and
6. continue the activities of the IOC Project Office for IODE, with special attention to its leading role in IOC capacity building through training.

Urges Member States to increase their participation in international oceanographic data and
information exchange through the establishment and/or strengthening of national data and
information management infrastructures;

Invites Member States to assist in the implementation of the IODE workplan (2008–2009)
through the provision of extra budgetary funds and/or secondment of experts to the IOC
Project Office for IODE.

Governance of IODE by IOC's Governing Bodies

The IODE is a Primary Subsidiary Body of the IOC. As such the IODE Committee, which makes decisions on the IODE programme, prepares recommendations (the IODE Committee also formulates Resolutions. These are decisions that do not need to be adopted by the IOC Governing Bodies - this concerns decisions that do not have financial implications) and submits these to IOC Governing Bodies (either the IOC Executive Council or the IOC Assembly). If the recommendations are adopted then they can be implemented. The most important recommendation deals with the IODE Programme and Budget for the next inter-sessional period (which is usually 2 years).

The Assembly is usually presented with 2 documents related to IODE: (i) the Executive Summary of the most recent Session of the IODE Committee (which is a short document including only the actions taken by the Committee, the resolutions and recommendations); and (ii) the full Summary Report of the most recent Session of the IODE Committee. In some cases additional documentation is provided as well as an information document.

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Created on: Friday, 25 May 2007 12:05

Last Updated on: Friday, 12 July 2013 09:33