NOAA Magazine | NOAA Home Page NOAA'S ROLE IN THE WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2002 (JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA) August 13, 2002 — As it did in 1972 in Stockholm and in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the world will look to Johannesburg, South Africa, as the World Summit on Sustainable Development gets underway in August of 2002. Sustainable Development is a phrase that achieved global attention following the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio (i.e., the "Earth Summit"). It was defined by the World Commission on Sustainable Development in 1987 as efforts "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This year's WSSD will address these issues again, only this time in the context of the 21st century. The WSSD is expected to draw heads of state from around the world, and tens of thousands of other participants to the negotiations, events, meetings, exhibits, courses and other activities surrounding the Summit. U.S. WSSD Vision and Themes The U.S. vision for WSSD is built on three themes: Commitment: The United States is committed to supporting sustainable development. Governance: Sustainable development must begin at home, with sound policies and good governance. Both official assistance and private capital are most effective when sent to governments that rule justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom. Partnerships: Governments, civil society and the private sector must work in partnership to mobilize development resources. To this end, the United States will initially work for concrete action in seven areas believed to be essential to sustainable development: health, energy, water, sustainable agriculture and rural development, education, oceans and forests. NOAA's Participation in WSSD As the lead agency representing the Department of Commerce at WSSD—and as the lead U.S. agency in the topic area for oceans, NOAA's presence will ensure that 1) important oceans, fisheries, observing systems, satellite and data partnerships will be highlighted and, in some cases, expanded; and 2) WSSD participants will be made aware of NOAA's products and services that further sustainable development worldwide. Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (ret.), Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., undersecretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, says, "The WSSD provides a unique opportunity for NOAA to work with its international counterparts to elevate high level attention to critical issues as they relate to sustainable development and strengthen the commitment of leading international economies regarding the value of the oceans to our shared economic future." The United States will present a number of new partnerships at the WSSD. Among them are two in which NOAA is playing a lead role. "White Water to Blue Water" Initiative: NOAA is a key player in the U.S. government's "White Water to Blue Water" Initiative to establish cross-sectoral ecosystem management, which will support healthy marine and coastal ecosystems—thus forming the basis for vibrant, stable and secure economies in coastal countries. During the WSSD, NOAA will be participating in U.S. government announcements on the "White Water to Blue Water" Initiative. Geographic Information for Sustainable Development (GISD) partnership: NOAA is a key player in the U.S. government's Global Information on Sustainable Development initiative to use a new generation of Earth observation data, state-of-the-art GIS-linked technologies and field-tested geographic knowledge to provide sustainable development information. Specifically, the GISD initiative provides processing of satellite data and construction of GIS maps that will help analyze rates of change over time in coastal resource and land use patterns. These analyses, in turn, will help identify priority locations for coastal action planning and conservation, aqua-culture and tourism development planning and land use zoning. GISD's ongoing pilot projects in Africa has already justified the value of using GISD for a broad range of sustainable development challenges of the next decade. The United States is also mounting an exhibit at the WSSD's Ubuntu Village. The exhibit highlights programs which promote sustainable development in the U.S. and abroad. Of interest to NOAA, the exhibit includes presentations on NOAA's efforts to work through the International Maritime Organization to establish an internationally recognized and implemented no-anchoring protocol for coral reef areas; and on Integrated Watershed Management. NOAA is supporting its own exhibit front and center in the U.S. exhibit. The exhibit highlights the U.S. partnerships of "White Water to Blue Water" and GISD, as well as several high profile NOAA programs and activities which support sustainable development. These include: El Niño Applications: An El Niño is an abnormal warming of the ocean temperatures across the eastern tropical Pacific that affects weather around the globe, and is the oceanic component of a more general ocean-atmosphere oscillatory phenomenon called El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). El Niño is characterized by changes in sea surface temperature associated with the eastward displacement of the Pacific warm pool and the disappearance of the equatorial and coastal upwellings of cold, nutrient rich waters. Because the oceanic temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific control seasonal climate (and related economic) fluctuations worldwide, NOAA is committed to providing accurate long lead prediction of El Niño and subsequent La Niña events. By analyzing the large-scale changes in sea surface temperature patterns provided by satellites and the buoys in the ocean, NOAA scientists have been able to study the onset, intensity and duration of specific El Niño events. In fact, NOAA's El Niño forecasts have become much more reliable in recent years. The new Operational Climate Forecast System at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, in collaboration with other NOAA research partners, provides NOAA and the world a means for developing longer lead-time strategies to deal with expected impacts, including economic impacts. For example, NOAA successfully predicted the major El Niño of 1997-1998 — six months in advance — and is now forecasting for a weak to moderate El Niño event to continue through winter 2002-2003. Global Observing Systems: Observations are fundamental to describing, understanding, and predicting the Earth's climate system. Therefore, NOAA gathers, analyzes and achieves ocean, atmospheric and land surface data over different parts of the globe. This work is performed in collaboration with other national/international agencies and partners, using an array of global sensors (i.e., ship, surface, airborne, and satellite observations). Specifically, two of NOAA's programs—Global Climate Observing System and Global Ocean Observing System—have been working with the Integrated Global Observing Strategy partners and others to design and implement a multipurpose global observing system. The greatest challenge in developing a global observing system is developing one coherent plan, which integrates space and in-situ observations across all three elements (i.e., water, air and land). To this end, NOAA will work with relevant international partners and assist developing nations with capacity building required to participate in this effort. In the end, a fully implemented global observing system will provide the tools needed to take "the pulse of the planet," formulate sound policy decisions, and serve the needs of the operational forecast centers, international research programs, and the assessment of climate trends. NOAA recognizes that this challenge can only be met through national and international partnerships that share both the benefits and costs of a global observing system. RANET (Radio and Internet for the Communication of Hydro-Meteorological and Climate Related Information): Climate and weather play a vital role in many human activities such as agriculture, energy production, wildlife management, disaster mitigation, health and a host of other areas. Technological and scientific advances in recent decades have produced a variety of products that can help humans manage systems sensitive to meteorological events and seasonal variability. Unfortunately, rural and technologically disadvantaged populations—often those most in need of this information—do not always possess the means or training with which to access meteorological products already produced by national, regional and various international organizations and government agencies. As a result, NOAA supports RANET in its effort to make climate and weather related information more accessible to rural populations and communities, through the use of innovative technologies, expansion of existing networks and training. In addition to the exhibit, NOAA will be conducting outreach at the WSSD to find other potential RANET partners. Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs): Large marine ecosystems are areas of the ocean characterized by distinct bathymetry, hydrology, productivity and trophic interactions. Annually, LMEs produce 95 percent of the world's fish catch, thus making them the focal point of global efforts to reduce the degradation of linked watersheds, marine resources and coastal environments from pollution, habitat loss and over-fishing. NOAA supports a new management approach to improve the long-term sustainability of LMEs—and their resources, which can best be characterized as a paradigm shift moving away from traditional management of commodities to new management practices that are focused on ensuring the sustainability of the productive potential for ecosystem goods and services. In addition to the exhibit, NOAA expert Kenneth Sherman will speak at an IUCN (World Conservation Union) event, and teach a course at the Summit Institute for Sustainable Development on LMEs. Monitoring, Control and Surveillance: The riches found in the world's oceans are increasingly under siege from poachers and those who plunder living marine environments. Large-scale illegal harvests of fish and despoliation of marine resources are widely recognized as serious problems and are the focus of many existing international agreements. NOAA supports the International Network for the Cooperation and Coordination of Fisheries-Related Monitoring Control and Surveillance Network (MCS Network), in its efforts to more effectively enforce conservation measures designed to protect world fisheries and ecosystems. Global Drought and Vegetation: Drought is the most damaging environmental phenomenon. During 1967-91, droughts affected 50 percent of the 2.8 billion people who suffered from weather-related disasters. Since droughts cover large areas, it is difficult to monitor them using conventional systems. As a result, NOAA has designed a new Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-based Vegetation Condition Index and Temperature Condition Index, which have been useful in detecting and monitoring large area, drought-related vegetation stress throughout the world (e.g., South America, Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe). Specifically, this satellite-based information has been recognized internationally—by the global scientific and operational community—for its ability to provide drought warnings four to six weeks earlier than more conventional ground-based data. It has been publicized by the American Meteorological Society, UN-based organizations and international remote sensing publications. Coral Reefs: Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world, supporting essential coastal fisheries, offering potential medicines and other bioactive compounds, protecting coasts from erosion and supporting coastal tourism. The global decline of coral reef ecosystems is due to both natural and human causes. Over the past few years, anomalously warm sea surface temperatures have led to increased prevalence of coral reef bleaching worldwide. This stress compounds those already incurred from natural factors (e.g., hurricanes) and factors associated with detrimental human activities (i.e., over fishing, sediment and nutrient run-off, anchor damage, unregulated coastal development, etc.). In response, NOAA has initiated the National Coral Reef Action Plan to address the loss and degradation of U.S. and international coral reef ecosystems. The Action Plan includes a mandate for the United States to exercise leadership internationally to shape and develop environmentally sound and comprehensive coral reef policy, strengthen international conventions and foster strategic partnerships with other countries—including through the International Coral Reef Initiative, international organizations and institutions, the public and private sectors, and non-government organizations to address international threats to coral reef ecosystems. Information on the Economic Impacts of NOAA Science: NOAA identifies, describes and measures the economic benefits and importance of NOAA's programs to the nation's economy and public well-being—for the general public, industry, and policy makers. Specifically, NOAA analyzes how individuals and society use weather, climate and other environmental information. including coastal and marine management, and how improvements in related products and services increase social and economic well-being. NOAA also tracks the economic and social impacts of natural marine, atmospheric and coastal phenomenon affecting the general public (i.e., weather and climate sensitive industries account for nearly 25 percent of the nation's GDP). For example, average annual damage from tornadoes, hurricanes and floods is $11.4 billion. NOAA also tracks the contributions to the U.S. income, employment, and output that directly reflect the market value and human uses of resources impacted by NOAA programs. An example here is the nearly $28 billion added to the nation's economy from the commercial fishing industry in 2000. The program descriptions above clearly demonstrate NOAA's commitment toward furthering sustainable development efforts worldwide and the importance of international partnerships and governance in achieving that end. Relevant Web Sites NOAA's Participation in the WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Global Information on Sustainable Development (GISD) International Maritime Organization (IMO) NOAA's El Niño Theme Page NOAA's La Niña Theme Page NOAA's Satellites Theme Page National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) EL NIÑO MAKES ITS OFFICIAL RETURN, NOAA REPORTS NOAA's Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) NOAA's Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) RANET (Radio and Internet for the Communication of Hydro-Meteorological and Climate Related Information) Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) International Network for the Cooperation and Coordination of Fisheries-Related Monitoring Control and Surveillance Network (MCS Network) NOAA's Drought Theme Page NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer- (AVHRR) Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI) NOAA's Coral Reef Theme Page Coral Bleaching Hot Spots NOAA's Hurricane Theme Page National Coral Reef Action Plan International Coral Reef Initiative NOAA's PROPOSED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE APEC OCEANS MINISTERIAL MEETING (Seoul, South Korea, April 22-27, 2002) Media Contact: Robert Hopkins, NOAA, (202) 482-4640