The ocean is the ultimate global commons. The ocean and coastal zones comprise unique international space where the International Community bear special responsibilities to benefit the global community with long-term, far-reaching and innovative vision. JCOMM has been well acknowledged as an extremely successful implementation mechanism for completing the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) as well as the ocean component of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), by coordinating and developing standards and procedures for fully integrated marine observing, data management, and services system. As a joint body of two organizations, WMO and IOC, JCOMM benefits from the strengths and expertise of the existing met and ocean institutions minimizing duplication of efforts acting as bridge between the meteorological and oceanographic communities. The Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology held its Third Session (JCOMM-III) in Marrakesh, Morocco, between 4 and 11 November 2009. The Session was attended by 105 participants from 39 WMO and IOC Members/Member States and 4 international organizations. The Session reviewed achievements by JCOMM community during the past intersessional period, toward a fully integrated marine observing, data management and services system that uses state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities. 123 Members / Member States of JCOMM also agreed on the workplan for the next intersessional period, taking into account the plans and strategies of the parent Organization, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The JCOMM-III session report includes the following recommendations;

• For the current intersessional period, JCOMM agreed to put efforts on supporting standard setting and best practice. A network of Regional Marine Instrument Centres (RMICs) will be established upon the endorsement by the WMO and UNESCO/IOC Executive Councils. Recommendation 1 (JCOMM-III);


• The JCOMMOPS office should continue to be based in Toulouse, France. Recommendation 2


• Members / Member States are recommended to submit proposals to the IODE-JCOMM Ocean Data Standards Pilot Project for wide community adoption. Recommendation 4 (JCOMM-III);


• A Guide to Operational Ocean Forecasting Systems will be initiated for publication during the intersessional period (Recommendation 5 (JCOMM-III)), adding to the continuing work of the Commission to update and maintain the Guides to Wave Analysis and Forecasting, and Storm Surge Hindcasting and Forecasting;


• The JCOMM Services and Forecasting Systems Programme Area should focus on; 1) further development of forecast systems and services; 2) technical support for disaster risk reduction, and; 3) enhanced service delivery;


• Many Member States highlighted potentially important role of JCOMM in rendering services for society – including disaster risk reduction in coastal areas – and in the implementation of the new Global Framework for Climate Services, established at the World Climate Conference-3 (Geneva, 31 August to 4 September 2009). It is considered that JCOMM should make efforts to emphasize the importance of ocean and marine meteorological observations and services system in the development of Climate Services;


• Following the decision at the Forty-first Session of the Executive Council (IOC/EC-XLI/3, paragraph 221), it was agreed that an end-to-end review of JCOMM is timely at this stage in the Joint Commission’s lifetime noting that the review process: (i) should reside in and be carried out by the Governing Bodies of the two cosponsoring organizations, not by JCOMM itself, (ii) reflect the views of IOC Member States and WMO Members; (iii) would require extrabudgary support. Recommendation 15 (JCOMM-III).

Based on the requirements by the parent organizations and the discussion and decision at the Session, the Terms of Reference for JCOMM were revised. The format of these revised Terms of Reference was subsequently modified, based on recommendation from the annual meeting of the Presidents of WMO Technical Commissions (Geneva, 28–30 January 2010), with advice from the WMO Executive council and the WMO EC Working Group on Strategic and Operational Planning. It was endorsed by the IOC Executive Council (2010), pending the endorsement by the WMO Congress in 2011. At the Session, Dr Peter Dexter (Australia) and Dr Alexander Frolov (Russian Federation) were elected as co-presidents of JCOMM for meteorology and oceanography, respectively. The full list of JCOMM Management Committee, Coordination Groups, and Experts Teams, with their respective Terms of Reference, can be found in JCOMM "People & Teams".