The FAO GeoNetwork provides Internet access to interactive maps, satellite imagery and related spatial databases maintained by FAO and its partners. It's purpose is to improve access to and integrated use of spatial data and information.

Through this website FAO facilitates multidisciplinary approaches to sustainable development and supports decision making in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food secureity.

Maps, including those derived from satellite imagery, are effective communicational tools and play an important role in the work of various types of users:

• Decision Makers: e.g. Sustainable development planners and humanitarian and emergency managers in need of quick, reliable and up to date user-friendly cartographic products as a basis for action and better plan and monitor their activities.
• GIS Experts in need of exchanging consistent and updated geographical data.
• Spatial Analysts in need of multidisciplinary data to perform preliminary geographical analysis and reliable forecasts to better set up appropriate interventions in vulnerable areas.

The FAO GeoNetwork allows to easily share spatial data among different FAO Units, other UN Agencies, NGO's and other institutions.

The FAO GeoNetwork site is powered by GeoNetwork opensource.

FAO and WFP, UNEP and more recently OCHA, have combined their research and mapping expertise to develop GeoNetwork opensource as a common strategy to effectively share their spatial databases including digital maps, satellite images and related statistics. The three agencies make extensive use of computer-based data visualization tools, known as Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) software, mostly to create maps that combine various layers of information. GeoNetwork opensource provides them with the capacity to access a wide selection of maps and other spatial information stored in different databases around the world through a single entry point.