World Meteorological Organization

Authors: World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Council for Science, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations Environment Programme

This booklet describes a hierarchical strategy - to be shared between the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) and to be linked to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) - for collecting reliable, representative, long-term data about the world's land and freshwater ecosystems that are required for a better understanding of global change.