ABSTRACT
As discussed earlier in this book (see Chapter 6), several countries have developed their own spatial data infrastructures, most notably Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. Within the context of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) there is an interesting question of whether a European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI) can assist in the process of turning environmental data into information. There are clear needs for data and information and there are many environmental information services in Europe, for example the topic centres of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs) of EUMETSAT. However, while there are some elements in place, GMES has also considered the issues of a European Shared Information Service (ESIS) and the benefits that can flow from improved and co-ordinated access to information.
