5 World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has a history that stretches back almost 150 years, and international data sharing has been central to its activities from the very beginning. The organization was formed to facilitate international cooperation in the collection and exchange of meteorological data and products, and it has continued to emphasize the importance of free and unrestricted data exchange throughout its existence. When member nations began to explore commercial meteorological activities that required restrictions on data sharing, the WMO was the venue for international debates on the issue. The organization itself had an interest in maintaining free and open exchange, as this principle was at the foundation of its own key functions. The formal international compromise on this issue was laid out in 1995 in WMO Resolution 40, which ensured that free and unrestricted exchange of data essential for saving lives and property would continue, while restrictions on other, “nonessential,” data would be allowed.