ABSTRACT
Global-and continental-scale land-cover and land-cover change information is required to better understand land-surface processes that characterize environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability. Land cover plays an important role in a number of environmental issues, such as migratory wildlife, water supply, landscape biochemical processes, climate change, and pollution, which may in«uence ecosystem and human health across borders. The scienti‡c requirement for global and continental land-cover information has long been articulated, especially at the international level by the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP), World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), and Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). Global and continental land-cover information is needed to implement the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Deserti‡cation (CCD), and the UN
20.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................303 20.2 North American Land-Change Monitoring System .............................................................304
