In 1992, world leaders adopted Agenda 21, the work program of the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. This landmark event provided a political foundation and action items to facilitate the global transition toward sustainable development. The international community marked the tenth anniversary of this conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2002. Down to Earth, a component of the U.S. State Department's "Geographic Information for Sustainable Development" project for the World Summit, focuses on sub-Saharan Africa with examples drawn from case-study regions where the U.S. Agency for International Development and other agencies have broad experience. Although African countries are the geographic focus of the study, the report has broader applicability. Down to Earth summarizes the importance and applicability of geographic data for sustainable development and draws on experiences in African countries to examine how future sources and applications of geographic data could provide reliable support to decision-makers as they work towards sustainable development. The committee emphasizes the potential of new technologies, such as satellite remote-sensing systems and geographic information systems, that have revolutionized data collection and analysis over the last decade. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Agenda 21 Implementation: Progress, Challenges, and the Role of Geographic Information 3 Geographic Information Activities in Africa 4 Facilitating the Use of Geographic Data: Spatial Data and Telecommunications Infrastructures 5 Geographic Data for Sustainable Development I: Framework Data 6 Geographic Data for Sustainable Development II: Other Thematic Data 7 GIS-Based Decision Support Systems in Africa 8 Building Capacity to Apply Geographic Information to Sustainable Development in Africa 9 Lessons Learned and Recommendations Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members Appendix B: Oral and Written Contributors Appendix C: FGDC Statement Appendix D: Acronyms Appendix E: Glossary

Land parcel data (also known as cadastral data) provide geographically referenced information about the rights, interests, and ownership of land and are an important part of the financial, legal, and real estate systems of society. The data are used by governments to make decisions about land development, business activities, regulatory compliance, emergency response, and law enforcement. In 1980, a National Research Council book called for nationally integrated land parcel data, but despite major progress in the development of land parcel databases in many local jurisdictions, little progress has been made toward a national system. National Land Parcel Data looks at the current status of land parcel data in the United States. The book concludes that nationally integrated land parcel data is necessary, feasible, and affordable. It provides recommendations for establishing a practical framework for sustained intergovernmental coordination and funding required to overcome the remaining challenges and move forward. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Background and Current Setting 3 Needs and Benefits 4 Current Status 5 Challenges 6 Vision and Model 7 Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix A Acronyms Appendix B Recommendations from Need for a Multipurpose Cadastre (NRC, 1980) Appendix C Land Parcel Data Summit Agenda Appendix D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

Comprehensive and authoritative baseline geospatial data content is crucial to the nation and to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS founded its Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) in 2006 to develop and distribute national geospatial data assets in a fast-moving information technology environment. In order to fulfill this mission, the USGS asked the National Research Council to assess current GIScience capabilities at the USGS, identify current and future needs for GIScience capabilities, recommend strategies for strengthening these capabilities and for collaborating with others to maximize research productivity, and make recommendations regarding the most effective research areas for CEGIS to pursue. With an initial focus on improving the capabilities of The National Map, the report recommends three priority research areas for CEGIS: information access and dissemination, data integration, and data models, and further identifies research topics within these areas that CEGIS should pursue. To address these research topics, CEGIS needs a sustainable research management process that involves a portfolio of collaborative research that balances short and long term goals. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 USGS Needs for GIScience Capabilities 3 Research Priorities 4 Realizing USGS's Vision for CEGIS References Appendixes A Committee and Staff Biographies B Meeting Participants and Presenters C CEGIS as Envisioned by McMahon et al. (2005) D Details of CEGIS-Funded Activities in Fiscal Year 2007 E Acronyms and Abbreviations

The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) was envisioned as a way of enhancing the accessibility, communication, and use of geospatial data to support a wide variety of decisions at all levels of society. The goals of the NSDI are to reduce redundancy in geospatial data creation and maintenance, reduce the costs of geospatial data creation and maintenance, improve access to geospatial data, and improve the accuracy of geospatial data used by the broader community. At the core of the NSDI is the concept of partnerships, or collaborations, between different agencies, corporations, institutions, and levels of government. In a previous report, the Mapping Science Committee (MSC) defined a partnership as ...a joint activity of federal and state agencies, involving one or more agencies as joint principals focusing on geographic information. The concept of partnerships was built on the foundation of shared responsibilities, shared costs, shared benefits, and shared control. Partnerships are designed to share the costs of creation and maintenance of geospatial data, seeking to avoid unnecessary duplication, and to make it possible for data collected by one agency at a high level of spatial detail to be used by another agency in more generalized form. Over the past seven years, a series of funding programs administered by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) has stimulated the creation of such partnerships, and thereby promoted the objectives of the NSDI, by raising awareness of the need for a coordinated national approach to geospatial data creation, maintenance, and use. They include the NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program, the Framework Demonstration Projects Program, the Community Demonstration Projects, and the Community-Federal Information Partnerships proposal. This report assesses the success of the FGDC partnership programs that have been established between the federal government and state and local government, industry, and academic communities in promoting the objectives of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Geographic information systems (GIS), the Global Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing, and other information technologies have all changed the nature of work in the mapping sciences and in the professions, industries, and institutions that depend on them for basic research and education. Today, geographic information systems have become central to the ways thousands of government agencies, private companies, and not-for-profit organizations do business. However, the supply of GIS/GIScience professionals has not kept pace with the demand generated by growing needs for more and improved geographic information systems and for more robust geographic data. Beyond Mapping assesses the state of mapping sciences at the beginning of the twenty-first century and identifies the critical national needs for GIS/GIScience professionals. It examines the forces that drive and accompany the need for GIS/GIScience professionals, including technological change, demand for geographic information, and changes in organizations. It assesses education and research needs, including essential training and education, new curriculum challenges and responses, quality assurance in education and training, and organizational challenges. Some of the report's recommendations include more collaboration among academic disciplines, private companies, and government agencies; the implementation of GIS/GIScience at all levels of education; and the development of a coherent, comprehensive research agenda for the mapping sciences. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Geographic Information Science Today and Tomorrow 2 Education and Curriculum Needs in GIS/GIScience 3 GIS/GIScience Research Needs 4 Recommendations 5 Afterword References Appendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff Appendix B Workshop Agenda and Participants Appendix C Evolution of the Mapping Sciences Appendix D Acronyms

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) provides geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to support national security, both as a national intelligence and a combat support agency. In the post-9/11 world, the need for faster and more accurate geospatial intelligence is increasing. GEOINT uses imagery and geospatial data and information to provide knowledge for planning, decisions, and action. For example, data from satellites, pilotless aircraft and ground sensors are integrated with maps and other intelligence data to provide location information on a potential target. This report defines 12 hard problems in geospatial science that NGA must resolve in order to evolve their capabilities to meet future needs. Many of the hard research problems are related to integration of data collected from an ever-growing variety of sensors and non-spatial data sources, and analysis of spatial data collected during a sequence of time (spatio-temporal data). The report also suggests promising approaches in geospatial science and related disciplines for meeting these challenges. The results of this study are intended to help NGA prioritize geospatial science research directions.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps portray the height and extent to which flooding is expected to occur, and they form the basis for setting flood insurance premiums and regulating development in the floodplain. As such, they are an important tool for individuals, businesses, communities, and government agencies to understand and deal with flood hazard and flood risk. Improving map accuracy is therefore not an academic question-better maps help everyone. Making and maintaining an accurate flood map is neither simple nor inexpensive. Even after an investment of more than $1 billion to take flood maps into the digital world, only 21 percent of the population has maps that meet or exceed national flood hazard data quality thresholds. Even when floodplains are mapped with high accuracy, land development and natural changes to the landscape or hydrologic systems create the need for continuous map maintenance and updates. Mapping the Zone examines the factors that affect flood map accuracy, assesses the benefits and costs of more accurate flood maps, and recommends ways to improve flood mapping, communication, and management of flood-related data. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Flood Mapping and Flood Insurance 3 Elevation and Height Data 4 Inland Flooding 5 Coastal Flooding 6 Benefits and Costs of Accurate Flood Mapping 7 Mapping and Risk Communication: Moving to the Future References Appendixes Appendix A: Methods for Estimating Base Flood Elevations in Approximate Studies Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members Appendix C: Glossary Appendix D: Acronyms and Abbreviations

Science is increasingly driven by data, and spatial data underpin the science directions laid out in the 2007 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Strategy. A robust framework of spatial data, metadata, tools, and a user community that is interactively connected to use spatial data in an efficient and flexible way-known as a spatial data infrastructure (SDI)-must be available for scientists and managers to find, use, and share spatial data both within and beyond the USGS. Over the last decade, the USGS has conducted breakthrough research that has overcome some of the challenges associated with implementing a large SDI. Advancing Strategic Science: A Spatial Data Infrastructure Roadmap for the U.S. Geological Survey is intended to ground those efforts by providing a practical roadmap to full implementation of an SDI to enable the USGS to conduct strategic science. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Background 3 Key Challenges and Lessons Learned 4 A Vision for Optimizing the USGS Spatial Data Infrastructure 5 A Roadmap for Spatial Data Infrastructure Implementation Appendixes Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies Appendix B: Presentations to the Committee Appendix C: On-Line Questionnaire Appendix D: Questionnaire Responses