Coordinating data and statistical systems to support long-term scientific assessment of the environment

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

Agenda 21 recommends: (a) coordinating existing systems for gathering data and statistics relevant to developmental and environmental issues so as to support preparation of long-term scientific assessments - for example, data on resource depletion, import/export flow, energy use, health impact and demographic trends; (b) applying the data obtained through research into ecosystems, ecological processes and developmental impact to environment/development assessments at the global, regional and local levels; (c) promoting the wide distribution of these assessments in a form that is responsive to public needs and can be widely understood.

The CIESIN Gateway on the Internet provide information about databases useful for the study of global change, sustainable development and human interactions in the environment. The Gateway (http://wwwgateway.ceisin.org) links to the NASA (Mission to Planet Earth) Global Change Master Directory, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Directory, the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Centre (SEDAC) human dimensions directory, the CIESIN Information Cooperative, and other relevant directories. SEDAC's mission is to develop and deleiver information products and services that integrate social and natural scinece data in ways useful for decision-making. CIESIN has also been desiggnated as World Data Center-A for Human Interactions in the Environment by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The CIESIN Gateway was the winner of the 1995 Computerworld-Smithsonian Award for Innovative Technology in Environment, Energy and Agriculture.