Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC ) is an intergovernmental organization that is part of UNESCO, which deals with global oceanographic issues of research and monitoring of the oceans. The coordination of early warning systems for marine hazards such as tsunamis are an object of the IOC.
The IOC serves as a platform for Member States of the UN to share scientific knowledge, methods, and technical expertise to coordinate state programs to large-scale research and generally work together in ocean research. Specifically, to promote the exchange of research data between member countries in 1961 IODE was founded ( International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange).
Overview
The Commission was established in 1960 by Resolution 2:31 of the General Conference of UNESCO. She performed for the first time from 19 to 27 October 1961 at 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 days every two years in the "assembly" of all Member States and each year the Executive Board of the selected Member States. A secretariat at UNESCO in Paris supports the daily work. The IOC organizes itself into a series of long-term programs and sub - institutions, for example, GEBCO, a program for creating a map with ocean depths.
The IOC coordinates the establishment of tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, the Caribbean and the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This work will be coordinated by their own intergovernmental working groups, eg 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).