GEWEX is a component of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), which was established in 1980 under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), and has also been sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO since 1993. The Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) is the main body of WMO-ICSU-IOC formulating overall WCRP scientific concepts. The scientific planning for GEWEX is under the guidance of the GEWEX Scientific Steering Group and assisted by the International GEWEX Project Office.