Collection of datasets on CDROM produced with support from US EPA, NOAA and several international and national organisations. The first release of the database was focused on Africa and contained data developed for desertification assessment (the UNEP/FAO Desertification database) by the Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI) and made available through cooperation between UNEP’s Global Resources Information Database (GRID) and the World Data Center-A as part of the ICSU Panel on World Data Centres.