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from UNFCCC Document FCCC/CP/1999/7. The full document,
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CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES Agenda items 4 (a) and 4 (h) REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENTS UNFCCC guidelines on reporting and review CONTENTS II. Guidelines for the preparation of national communications by Parties included in Annex I to the Convention, Part II: UNFCCC reporting guidelines on national communications: IX. RESEARCH AND SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION III. UNFCCC reporting guidelines on global climate observing systems
II. GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS BY PARTIES INCLUDED IN ANNEX I TO THE CONVENTION PART II: UNFCCC REPORTING GUIDELINES ON NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS IX. RESEARCH AND SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION 57. Pursuant to Articles 4.1(g) and (h), 5 and 12.1(b), Annex I Parties shall communicate information on their actions relating to research and systematic observation. 58. The national communication shall address both domestic and international activities (for example, the World Climate Programme, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, the Global Climate Observing System, and the IPCC). They shall also reflect action taken to support related capacity-building in developing countries. 59. Parties shall provide summary information on global climate observing system activities in accordance with paragraph 64 below. To guide reporting under section IX, parts A and C, Parties should refer to the detailed guidance provided in the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on global climate observing systems (contained herein, see pages 101-108). 60. The national communication should report, in summary form, on action taken. For example, the results of research studies or model runs or data analysis should not be included in this section. A. General policy on and funding of research and systematic observation 61. Parties should provide information about general policy on and funding of research and systematic observation. 62. Parties should identify the opportunities for and barriers to free and open international exchange of data and information and report on action taken to overcome barriers. B. Research 63. Parties should provide, inter alia, information on highlights, innovations and significant efforts made with regard to: (a) Climate process and climate system studies, including paleoclimate studies; (b) Modelling and prediction, including general circulation models; (c) Research on the impacts of climate change; (d) Socio-economic analysis, including analysis of both the impacts of climate change and response options; (e) Research and development on mitigation and adaptation technologies. C. Systematic observation 64. Parties should provide summary information on the current status of national plans, programmes and support for ground- and space-based climate observing systems, including long-term continuity of data, data quality control and availability, and exchange and archiving of data in the following areas:
III. UNFCCC REPORTING GUIDELINES ON
1. The purpose of these guidelines for reporting on global climate observing systems for Annex I and, as appropriate, non-Annex I Parties to the Convention, is to assist Parties in reporting their actions with regard to global climate observing systems, development of observational networks and, as appropriate, support for non-Annex I Parties to the Convention, as defined in Articles 4.1(g) and (h), 5 and 12.1(b) of the Convention. 2. The information identified in these guidelines shall be communicated by the Party in a single document and submitted to the Conference of the Parties through the secretariat, and shall be in one of the official languages of the United Nations. Parties may include a reference to a national focal point and/or web site where additional copies may be obtained. The length of the report may be decided by the submitting Party but every effort shall be made to avoid over-lengthy reports. Parties also should provide an electronic version of their reports to the secretariat
3. Parties shall describe the status of their national programme for systematic observation to meet the needs for meteorological, atmospheric, oceanographic and terrestrial observations of the climate system as identified by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) (1) and its partner programmes in line with Article 5 of the Convention. A list of the technical acronyms used in these guidelines is given in appendix 1. 4. In describing their national programme, Parties should, where relevant, report on the following:
5. Parties should describe the extent to which national data on systematic observations are exchanged with other Parties and provided to international data centres. Parties should describe any barriers to the exchange of data or provision of data to international data centres. Parties should, as necessary, describe any national policy or guidance relevant to the exchange of data relevant to meeting the needs of the UNFCCC. 6. Parties should describe actual and/or planned activities for capacity-building in developing countries related to collection, exchange and/or utilization of data to meet local, regional and international needs. 7. Parties should describe actual and/or planned actions since the publication of the previous national communication to strengthen international and intergovernmental programmes related to global climate observing systems. 8. Where information required in these guidelines cannot be provided, Parties should report on any difficulties encountered, needs that should be met to facilitate improved reporting, and steps taken to improve availability of information.
9. Parties shall, to the extent possible, describe their participation in GCOS, through their provision of meteorological and atmospheric observations including: the GCOS Surface Network (GSN) (3) , GCOS Upper Air Network (GUAN) (4) and Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)(5) . Parties should describe to what extent the observations correspond to the GCOS/GOOS/GTOS climate monitoring principles (appendix 2) and relevant best practices (5,6) . 10. In describing their national programmes, Parties should, where relevant, report on the following: international data exchange; the provision of metadata to the World Data Centres; and participation in, and support for, international quality control and archiving programmes. 11. Parties should, in order to facilitate integration of national reports, complete table 1.
Table 1. Participation in the global atmospheric observing systems
Note: * Provide brief details 12. Parties shall, where relevant and to the extent possible, describe their participation in GCOS and GOOS through their provision of oceanographic observations (7) including, for example, sea surface temperature, sea level, temperature and salinity profiles, energy and carbon flux data. Parties should describe to what extent the observations correspond to the GCOS/GOOS/GTOS climate monitoring principles (appendix 2) and other relevant best practices. 13. In describing their national programmes, Parties should, where relevant, report on the following: international data exchange; and their participation in, and support for, international quality control and archiving programmes. 14. Parties should, in order to facilitate integration of national reports, complete table 2. Table 2. Participation in the global oceanographic observing systems
Note: See appendix 1 for explanation of acronyms 15. Parties should describe their participation in GCOS and GTOS programmes for terrestrial observations (8) including the Global Terrestrial Network - Glaciers (GTN-G) (9), Global Terrestrial Network - Permafrost (GTN-P) (10), and the Global Terrestrial Network - Carbon (FLUXNET) (11), and other networks monitoring land-use, land cover, land-use change and forestry, fire distribution, CO2 flux, and snow and ice extent. Additionally, a general description of programmes for hydrological systems should be given. Parties should describe to what extent the observations correspond to the GCOS/GOOS/GTOS climate monitoring principles (appendix 2) and relevant best practices (9,10,11). 16. In describing their national programmes, Parties should, where relevant, report on the following: international data exchange; the provision of metadata for these networks; and participation in international quality control and archiving programmes, including hosting international archiving and/or quality assurance and quality control centres. 17. Parties should, in order to facilitate integration of national reports, complete table 3. Table 3. Participation in the global terrestrial observing systems
E. Space-based observing programmes (12) 18. Parties should, where relevant, provide information on their participation in national and international space-based observing programmes or programmes using satellite data to derive climate-related information. 19. Parties should include the following information: summary description of space series, missions, and/or instruments; mechanisms for access to data and products by intermational programmes in relation to climate change; mechanisms for archiving, quality assurance and quality control; major domains of applications (atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial); and prospects for long-term continuity, including expected overall lifetime of observational programme. Parties should describe to what extent the observations correspond to the GCOS/GOOS/ GTOS climate monitoring principles (appendix 2) and relevant best practices. 20. Where space activities are undertaken jointly with other Parties or multinational bodies, Parties should either list participating Parties or should refer to the report of another Party in which the information can be found. 21. Parties should include in their reports information on climate-related space activities in which the private sector is partly or wholly involved. Appendix I DEFINITION OF ACRONYMS USED IN THE GUIDELINES ASAP Automated Shipboard Aerological Programme Appendix 2 GCOS/GOOS/GTOS CLIMATE MONITORING PRINCIPLES (13)Effective monitoring systems for climate should adhere as closely as possible to the following principles:
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