The seventh session of the Services and Forecast Systems Program Area Coordination Group (SCG) of the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) will open at 0900 hours on Monday 4 March 2013, at the Conference Room of the Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan.

The main expected outcome of this session will be a detailed and harmonized SFSPA workplan for the current intersessional period (2013-2017), with a list of high priority activities, clear timelines and deliverables.

In doing so, the Group will decide on the step-by-step plans for priority issues/activities for the next intersessional period, which were notably agreed through the Recommendations at JCOMM-4 session under the relevant discussions to the work of SFSPA.

• Quality management implementation for JCOMM: marine meteorological and oceanographic services – Recommendation 5(JCOMM-4);
• Amendment to WMO-No.558, WMO-No.471 and related Manuals/Guides such as the WMO-No.485 (GDPFS Manual) – Recommendation-6(JCOMM-4); and related issues such as the procedure for designating Issuing Services / Preparation Services;
• Review SFSPA strategy and contribution for GFCS;
• Enhancement of JCOMM capability for marine environmental emergencies – Recommendation-4(JCOMM-4): an ad hoc task team led by the SCG vice Chairperson was tasked to develop the implementation strategy and plan to develop an international coordination framework to support response to marine environmental emergencies (with a focus on the maritime discharge of radioactive hazard). The Group will 1) review these strategy and plan; and, 2) agree on the plans for the endorsement of the documents (by the WMO-IOC governing bodies through JCOMM Management Committee) and for the implementation.