Senior officials from more than 40 countries agreed Sunday in Tokyo on the framework of a 10-year plan to integrate global observation systems in order to address environmental threats such as climate change and natural disasters.
The framework is designed to achieve nine goals, such as utilizing water resources effectively, improving forest management and curbing damage to human lives and property from disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and torrential rain.
The agreement was reached at the second Earth Observation Summit, held at a Tokyo hotel. The summit saw debate on ways to coordinate global observation systems, including satellite networks, ocean buoys and land-based monitoring systems, and share information gained by the member countries.