Published : Mar 07,
2013 Last modified : Mar 08, 2013 10:54
AM
The city of Dublin was the setting for the
first Eye on Earth User Conference, organised
by the European Environment Agency (EEA)
in association with the Irish Presidency
of the Council of the European Union.
Over three days (4-6
March), the conference brought together
more than 230 participants representing
communities in 77 countries. They exchanged
views and ideas on how to expand the Eye
on Earth community to support sharing of
environmental, societal and economic data
and information from a wide diversity of
knowledge communities.
The Global Network of
Networks was also launched at the conference
and aims to align existing and planned local,
national and global networks including Eionet
(European Environment Information and Observation
Network), Sustained Arctic Observing Network
and AfricaEIN. The conference outcome was
captured in the Dublin Statement. It covers
a series of special initiatives on oceans,
water, biodiversity, cities and disasters
as well as technical development of the
platform, citizen science as an important
source of knowledge, building capacities
across the network and empowerment of Eye
on Earth communities.
Plenary speakers included
Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment,
Community and Local Government for Ireland,
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of
the European Environment Agency, H.E. Razan
Khalifa al Mubarak, Secretary General of
the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, Monika
MacDevette, Chief of Capacity Development
Branch at the United Nations Environment
Programme, Barbara Ryan, Secretariat Director
of the Group on Earth Observations, Alan
Edwards from the European Commission, Volker
Liebig, Director of Earth Observation at
the European Space Agency, Harvey Simon
from the US Environment Protection Agency,
Costis Toregas from the George Washington
University, Eric van Praag from GeoSUR,
Frank McCosker, Managing Director of Global
Strategic Accounts at Microsoft and Dean
Agelides, Corporate Director of Esri.
The aim of the conference
was to bring together the Eye on Earth partners
and communities to create a widespread understanding
among data providers and users about the
concept of data and information sharing
through the Eye on Earth Network. You can
read more about the conference on the Eye
on Earth website and in the blog.
Phil Hogan said: “Good
environmental data is an essential starting
point in meeting environmental challenges
and in developing an enhanced understanding
of how our environment affects us and how
our actions impact on our surroundings.
Harnessing the collective energy of the
Eye on Earth community has the potential
to promote sustainable development in many
areas.”
Achim Steiner, Executive
Director of UNEP, said: “The Eye on Earth
Alliance is addressing the issue of improving
data access in the global arena through
the Eye on Earth Summit hosted in Abu Dhabi
in December 2011 and more recently, at the
UNCSD Rio+20 Summit in Brazil in June 2012,
where UNEP and the Environment Agency Abu
Dhabi presented in unison to the global
challenge of tackling the sustainable development
issues at hand. The Dublin Statement is
an important step in expanding and strengthening
the Alliance so that a wider array of partners
share a common vision and goals in facilitating
access to information for sustainable development.”
Jacqueline McGlade expanded
on the sharing theme with a vision of citizens
communicating with government through their
daily lives. “The conference was a real
eye opener for all of us and showed just
how Eye on Earth can play a major role in
delivering this ambitious vision. By supporting
partnerships across the diverse communities
of knowledge, we can develop a global understanding
of the Earth,” she said.
