Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission ( IOC ; German Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission ) is an intergovernmental organization as part of UNESCO that deals with global oceanographic issues relating to the exploration and monitoring of the oceans. The coordination of early warning systems for marine dangers such as tsunamis is also one of the tasks of the IOC.
The IOC serves as a platform for the member states of the UN to exchange scientific findings, methods and technical know-how, to coordinate state programs for large-scale research and to work together in ocean research in general. IODE (International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange) was founded in 1961 to promote the exchange of research data between the member countries .
overview
The commission was set up in 1960 by resolution 2.31 of the General Conference of UNESCO . It met for the first time from October 19 to 27, 1961 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
The 40 founding members were: Argentina , Australia , Belgium , Brazil , Chile , China , Denmark , Federal Republic of Germany , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , Ivory Coast , Finland , France , Ghana , Great Britain , India , Israel , Italy , Japan , Canada , Korea , Cuba , Morocco , Mauritania , Mexico , Monaco , Netherlands , Norway , Pakistan , Poland , Romania , Switzerland , Soviet Union , Spain , Thailand , Tunisia , United Arab Republic , United States of America , Uruguay , Vietnam .
The IOC consists of the member states (as of 2013: 145). These meet every two years in the "Assembly" of all Member States and annually in the Executive Council of the elected Member States. A secretariat at UNESCO in Paris supports the daily work. The IOC is organized into a number of long-term programs and sub-institutions, such as GEBCO , a program for creating a map of sea depths.
The IOC coordinates the establishment of tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean , the Pacific , the Caribbean and the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. This work is coordinated by separate intergovernmental working groups, e.g. B. the ICG / IOWTS (Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System in the Indian Ocean).