first International Meteorological Conference of 1853, which con- 

 cerned Itself with providing a program of oceanic weather observa- 

 tions. This conference is not only donsidered the predecessor to 

 IMO, but a forerunner in the field of international cooperation. 



WMO also operates a Voluntary Assistance Progranune (VAP) to assist 

 developing countries. Under this program, the developing countries 

 are granted scholarships for job training, offered the aid of ex- 

 perts, provided training dourses, and encouraged to participate in 

 research campaigns falling in their geographic area or appropriate 

 in subject matter. 



WMO's committees, commissions, and associations are described in 

 entries 28 through 31. 



28. WMO COMMITTEES 



Overall policy and administrative matters are handled by an 

 Executive Committee comprising heads of 24 national meteorological 

 services. The Executive Committee meets at least once a year to 

 conduct the activities of the organization; review, coordinate, and 

 implement programs; and study and make recommendations on matters 

 affecting international meteorology and the operation of meteorologi- 

 cal centers. The Executive Committee establishes panels of experts 

 to review special topics as needed. One of these, the Executive Com- 

 mittee's Panel on Meteorological Aspects of Ocean Affairs (MAOA) , 

 was originally created in 1968 to review and provide advice to the 

 Executive Committee on the coordination of meteorological programs 

 with oceanographic programs. In 1976 a resolution was adopted to 

 combine the functions of MAOA with those of the Advisory Committee 

 on Oceanic Meteorological Research (ACOMR) into a new Panel, also 

 called the Executive Committee's Panel on Meteorological Aspects of 

 Ocean Affairs (MAOA). The new Panel's responsibilities are to 

 serve as an advisory body both to WMO and to the Intergovernmental 

 Oceanographic Commission (IOC). Another, the Executive Committee's 

 Panel of Experts on Climatic Change (PECC) , is concerned with the 

 effect of the world's oCeans on climatic changes and has given high 

 priority to the collection of time series of marine meteorological 

 and oceanographic data. Its Panel of Experts on Environmental Pollu- 

 tion (PEEP) is promoting programs for the development of techniques 

 to measure pollutants and the development of programs to measure 

 specific pollutants. It is especially concerned with monitoring 

 pollutants in open ocean waters and the exchange of data. 



WMO has other advisory committees whose functions are to advise 

 the Executive Committee on matters affecting two or more of the 

 specialized commissions. One of these is the Advisory Committee on 

 Operational Hydrology (ACOH), which also serves as an international 

 body through which national hydrological services can advise WMO. 



29. WMO COMMISSIONS 



Eight specialized commissions form the main body of WMO and are! 



1. Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology: CAeM 



2. Commission for Agricultural Meteorology: CAgM 



3. Commission for Atmospheric Sciences: CAS 



4. Commission for Basic Systems: CBS 



5. Commission for Hydrology: CHy 



6. Commission for Instruments and Methods of 

 Observation: CIMO 



7. Commission for Marine Meteorology: CMM 



8. Commission for Special Applications of Meteorology and 

 Climatology: CoSAMC 



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