There has been a virtual explosion in the amount of information available on the Internet. Two major problems continue to plague researchers using this technology as an aid. First, there continues to be a problem finding relevant information. Using the various search engines, a search for "land quality indicators" or "sustainable land management" could yield almost one million "hits," some of which are relevant, but many more of which are not. A second major problem is that the technology is in its inf ancy, and those using it are still grappling with what type of information and how much of it to post on the Internet. As a result many sites contain only general information about organizations and projects, products, and services. Attempting to get sign ificant detail has proven to be a challenge. Fortunately, some organizations have taken the initiative and are creating WWW catalogues that provide links to agricultural and agri-environmental sites. Some of the better ones are listed below.

A. Launching Points

World Wide Web Virtual Library: Agriculture

URL: http://ipmwww.ncsu.edu/cernag/cern.html

Compiler: NSF Center for Integrated Pest Management , located at North Carolina State University

Contents: Provides links to agriculture sites around the world; agriculture-related newsletters, periodicals and electronic textbooks; databases and software; WWW virtual library sites relevant to agriculture (broken down by subject); resources containing lists of WWW sites relevant to agriculture; and horticulture information.

Accessibility: While this site has no restrictions on access, some of the sites it links to may

Virtual Library on International Development

URL: http://w3.acdi-cida.gc.ca/Virtual.nsf/pages/index_e.htm

Compiler: International Development Information Centre (IDIC) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Contents: A collection of links to international development resources on the Internet, broken down by organizations, thematic resources, regions and countries; Thematic Resources: Agriculture provides links to over 20 sites with references to a griculture and international development.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

URL: http://www.worldbank.org/html/cgiar/HomePage.html

Compiler: World Bank.

Contents: Describes activities of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and provides links to research centres.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Comment: This site and those of the research centres tend to be very general, with the exception of the Centre for International Forestry Research (see Land Quality and Sustainable Management Indicator Sites).

AgDB: the Agriculture-Related Information Systems, Databases, and Datasets AgNIC prototype

URL: http://www.agnic.org/agdb/

Compiler: National Agricultural Library's (NAL) Electronic Research Database Committee (ERDC).

Contents: Identifies and describes agriculture-related databases, datasets, and information systems. Not all datasets described are available on the Internet, but for those that are, links have been established to the actual data wherever possib le.

Accessibility: All the AgDB metadata records may be viewed through the alphabetical list, arranged by resource name. The full text of all metadata records is searchable through a keyword index. As part of this function, one can search by AGRICO LA Subject Category Code, permitting the user to apply a broad level, human-indexed screening to a rough keyword search.

UN System Wide EARTHWATCH Site

URL: http://www.unep.ch/earthw.html

Compiler: UNEP

Contents: The site has been completely revised and expanded. It includes:

• Short summaries of emerging environmental problems, referenced to the scientific literature
• Listing of the major recent environmental assessments
• Updates on the organization of Earthwatch
• Documents on Earthwatch, including Earthwatch Working Party reports, etc.
• Revised pages on the environmental information activities of relevant UN organizations, linked to their WWW sites
• Special topics, e.g. Indicators; Global International waters Assessment, etc.

Accessibility: No restrictions

B. Land Quality and Sustainable Land Management Indicators Sites

Agricultural Indicators -- Indicator Program Descriptions

URL: http://tdg.uoguelph.ca/www/FSR/collection/indicator/program.txt

Compiler: S. McCann, World Resources Institute

Content: Profiles of 37 programs currently involved in developing indicators of agricultural sustainability. The profiles are arranged in four categories based on the focus of the organization's indicator output or reports. The categories includ e the global and national level; the regional level (ecoregion, watershed, landscape); the community, project and farm level; and the soil level.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Review and Assessment of Available Indicators for Evaluating Sustainable Land Management

URL: http://res.agr.ca/PUB/ecorc/program3/pub/indicat/overview.htm

Compiler: Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Content: Report investigates some potential indicators for assessing the sustainability of agricultural land management in Canada. The focus is on the sustainability of agricultural resources. Data from the 1991 Census of Agriculture were used, where possible, to determine indicators, because the data are current and equally representative of all parts of the country.

Framework for Assessment of Sustainable Land Management

Variables, indicators, and thresholds

Criteria for choosing indicators

Review of available indicators

Assessment of selected indicators

Conclusions

Appendix I: Alternative Approaches to the Development of Indicators

Appendix II: Indicators of Soil and Water Quality

References

Accessibility: No restrictions

Comment: This is an electronic version of the Neave and others (1995) report.

Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

URL: http://www.cgiar.org/cifor/

Compiler: CIFOR

Content: Includes general information, maps, and statistics on at least 80 countries from WCMC, one of CIFOR's collaborators, as well as summaries of its research projects, including its criteria and indicators project.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives and Publications

URL: http://iisd1.iisd.ca/measure/compendium.htm

Compiler: International Institute for Sustainable Development, Environment Canada, Redefining Progress, and the World Bank.

Content: Provides an overview of initiatives on sustainable development indicators being carried out at the international, national and provincial/territorial/state levels.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)

URL: http://www.ciesin.org/

Compiler: Center for International Earth Science Information Network

Content: Provides interactive applications, metadata resources, data resources, information systems and resources. Although much of the information is U.S.-based, the Land and Water Knowledge Management Node (LW-KMN) (http://www.ciesin.org/lqi-is/lw-kms) is a global information system being developed by CIESIN and supported by the World Bank, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Food and Agriculture Organizat ion (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The information system provides searchable metadata and tools for access to source data and indicators.

Interactive Applications

Metadata Resources

Information Systems and Resources

Accessibility: No restrictions

Global Resource Information Database (GRID)

URL: http://www.grida.no/prog/global/cgiar/index.htm

Compiler: A joint project of the United Nations Environment Programme, Global Resource Information Database (UNEP/GRID) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The main objective of the UNEP/CGIAR project for t he "Use of Geographic Information Systems in Agricultural Research Management" is to establish long-term cooperative links between UNEP and the CGIAR system to effectively integrate natural resource and socioeconomic information into agricultural research activities

Content: Provides an overview of the project and newsletters and reports back to 1995, as well as datasets and links to other CGIAR sites.

Datasets

Accessibility: No restrictions

Comment: Geographic analysis can provide a considerable input to agricultural research where the spatial dimension is relevant. Applications range from service functions, such as collecting and providing geo-referenced data, to modeling of crop yields, identification of key areas of population pressure, biodiversity conservation, and complicated impact assessment analyses. The importance of GIS in agricultural research is increasing as environmental management gains a regular place on agricultur al research agendas.

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

URL: http://www.idrc.ca

Compiler: IDRC

Content: The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Canadian government to help communities in the developing world find solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems through research. The si te provides access to information about IDRC, including the Centre's general information brochure, annual report, news, media information, and the Centre's program of research. "Research Projects" offers direct access to international research sites inclu ding research initiatives and international secretariats. "Resources" links to the Centre Library, databases, catalogue of publications, and IDRC's archives. The IDRC Library provides public access to development information via the Development Data Bases Service (DDBS) at http://www.ddbs.idrc.ca. DDBS databases:

Accessibility: No restrictions

Land and Water Knowledge Management Node

URL: http://ciesin.org/lw-kms

Compiler: World Bank

Content: The Land and Water Knowledge Management Node involves the development of:

Accessibility: No restrictions

Comment: The program and the global coalition being assembled to develop and disseminate information on land and water quality are important contributions toward more sustainable management of the world's land, water, and biological resources. T he objective is not a new program separate from the ongoing efforts of many agencies, but rather better coordination of the many existing and new initiatives on land resource management. This requires that the work be done in a coordinated, cooperative fa shion, using a common framework.

The UNEP Meta-data Directory

URL: http://www.grid.unep.no/

Compiler: United Nations Environment Programme

Content: For the UNEP Meta-data Directory, the term "meta-data" is defined as reference data about the content and location of (environmental) data and information holdings. Meta-data are the high-level "overview" or informational abstract that describes (and points to) a particular dataset, report, map, or institute. Meta-data assist users by providing access to institutes and data.

The UNEP Meta-data Directory will serve as a library card catalogue of environmental information. It will contain "card entries" (or meta-data descriptions) of institutes and datasets. Similar to the library card catalogue, the meta-data directory will allow users to search for environmental information by institute name or dataset (title), contact person (author), theme, keyword, and location (subject), as well as other criteria.

Sample queries to this system may be: How many institutes are working on biodiversity in Europe and how can I contact them? Where are datasets available about vegetation in Kenya and how can I get them?

Accessibility: Since the goal of this software is to provide information free of charge to as large a global audience as possible, the audience for this directory is primarily (but not limited to) the environmental information-seeker who does no t have network (Internet) access. Data in the directory can be interchanged freely among users and can be uploaded to the World Wide Web for users with Internet connectivity.

It will be necessary for all users of the MdD to register with GRID to ensure uniqueness of data entries. A security system is invoked at the beginning of each new participant's meta-data session. This verification process asks new users to identify th emselves, the machine they are working on, and the organization they work for.

To sample the Meta-data Directory (demo version), contact James McKenna at UNEP: Tel: 254.2.623899 or Fax: 254.2.624315 or e-mail: mckennaj@unep.org. UNEP is promoting its use and always looking for more partners with whom to share environmental inform ation.

Sustainable Development Indicators, selected bibliography

URL: http://iisd1.iisd.ca/ic/info/ss9504.htm

Compiler: International Institute for Sustainable Development

Content: A listing of publications related to sustainable development indictors. Brief descriptions are provided in some cases; however, there are no links to the publications themselves.

Accessibility: No restrictions.

SPAAR Information System (SIS)

URL: http://www.bib.wau.nl/sis/

Compiler: International Agricultural Centre (IAC), The Netherlands

Content: The Special Programme for African Agricultural Research (SPAAR) emerged as an initiative in the mid-1980s to enhance agricultural production in Africa by increasing donor coordination in the field of agricultural research. The SPAAR Inf ormation System (SIS) was developed as a tool to come to grips with the increasing number of activities. It complements the registration of nationally funded projects in the CARIS database managed by FAO. It can search listing by keywords or by list of av ailable research disciplines:

Accessibility: No restrictions

Africa Productive Sector Growth and Environment

URL: http://www.info.usaid.gov/sdpsge/psgehome.html

Compiler: Productive Sector Growth and Environment (PSGE) Division of USAID

Content: Promotes African development through research, analysis, and strategic field support in the areas of agriculture, the environment, natural resources management, and private sector development. Provides general information on its program , staff, and partners.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Comment: Material dated

World Resources Institute (WRI)

URL: http://www.wri.org/wri/index.html

Compiler: World Resources Institute

Content: The World Resources Institute is an independent center for policy research and technical assistance on global environmental and development issues. This site provides summaries of WRI projects, including sustainable agriculture, and ind icators and trends. Copies of WRI's publications are posted, as is World Resources 1996-97, a report by WRI, UNEP, UNDP, and the World Bank.

Accessibility: No restrictions

C. Indigenous Knowledge

Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Rural Development

URL: http://www.physics.iastate.edu/cikard/cikard.html

Compiler: Centre for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD)

Content: Provides online publications and searchable databases for publications and articles dealing with Agroforestry (382K); Aquatic Resources (122K); Biodiversity (65k); Ecology (428K); Ethnobotany (188K); Natural Resource Management (215K); Rainforest (74K); Soil (392K); Sustainable Agriculture (440K); Traditional Medicine (165K); and Water Management (214K).

Accessibility: No restrictions on viewing databases

Indigenous Knowledge Home Page

URL: http://nemesis.nufficcs.nl/ik-pages/

Compiler: Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks (CIRAN)

Content: Provides search capability to approximately 200 indigenous knowledge resources that have been indexed by CIRAN, and provides listings of potentially relevant mailing lists and newsgroups.

Accessibility: No restrictions

Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor

URL: http:/www.nufficcs.nl/ciran/ikdm/

Compiler: Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks (CIRAN)

Content: The Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor is a series of newsletters and articles aimed at those with an interest in the role of indigenous knowledge and participatory approaches to sustainable development. It provides an instrum ent for the exchange of information, a platform for debate on the concept of indigenous knowledge in a variety of disciplines, and an overview of activities in the field of indigenous knowledge and sustainable development. The Monitor is published three t imes a year; there are two regular issues and one special issue. The Monitor first appeared in February 1993. Vol. 1 (1-3) and Vol. 2 (1-2) are no longer available.

Accessibility: No restrictions on viewing articles