Acknowledgements

The global Ecological Zone map and database for FRA2000 was developed by FAO with support of many institutions and people. Agreements for cooperation were implemented with EROS Data Center (development of GEZ classification framework, GEZ of temperate-boreal regions), Laboratoire d’Ecologie Terrestre (GEZ of the tropics) and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (organisation of Cambridge Expert meeting, thematic advice). In addition, a number of regional experts and scientists provided advice, support and contributions. Henk Simons of FAO had the overall coordination of the work and also compiled the final GEZ report. Xinia Soto of FAO was responsible for the GIS work and produced the GEZ maps of this report.

The FAO is greatly indebted to the following people and institutions:

- Zhiliang Zhu of EROS Data Center, USA, who contributed to the GEZ mapping of the non-tropical regions and provided GEZ descriptions for China;

- Karn Deo Singh of Harvard University, USA, who played a major role in the development of the GEZ classification framework and the GEZ of the non-tropical regions;

- Marie-France Bellan of Laboratoire d’Ecologie Terrestre, France, who prepared the GEZ and descriptions for the tropical regions;

- Susan Iremonger of the World Conservation Monitoring Center, UK, who assisted in organizing the Cambridge Expert meeting and contributed to validation of the GEZ map;

- Harry Hirvonen of the Canadian Forest Service, who contributed to GEZ of Canada and provided GEZ descriptions for the same country;

- Brad Smith of the USDA Forest Service, who contributed to GEZ of the United States;

- Vicente Watson and Joseph Tosi of the Tropical Science Center, Costa Rica, who contributed to GEZ of Central America and provided GEZ descriptions for the region;

- Luis Morales of the National University of Mexico, who contributed to the GEZ of Mexico and provided the GEZ descriptions;

- Anatoly Shvidenko of IIASA, who contributed to the GEZ of former USSR and provided the GEZ descriptions;

- Udo Bohn and Christoph Hettwer of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany, who contributed to the GEZ of Europe and provided the GEZ descriptions;

- Youssef Barkoudah of the University of Damascus, Syria, who contributed to the GEZ of the Middle East;

- Zheng Du of IRSA, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who contributed to the GEZ of China;

- Philip Tickle of the Bureau of Rural Sciences, Australia, who contributed to the GEZ of Australia;

- WWF-US, who provided the source map for the Carribean, the Pacific Islands, Japan, Mongolia and New Zealand.

Paper drafted by: Henk Simons, FAO-FRA Programme

Editorial production by: Patrizia Pugliese, FAO-FRA Programme

Abbreviations

CEC	Commission for Environmental Cooperation (Canada, USA, Mexico)
DEM	Digital Elevation Model
EDC	Eros Data Center of the United States Geological Survey
EFZ	Ecofloristic Zone
EZ	Ecological Zone or Zoning
FAO	Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
FRA	Forest Resources Assessment (Programme)
FRA 2000	Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000
GEZ	Global Ecological Zone (or Zoning)
GIS	Geographic Information System
IIASA	International Institute for Applied System Analysis
IRSA	Institute for Remote Sensing Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences
LET	Laboratoire d’Ecologie Terrestre
LUT	Look-up Table
WCMC	World Conservation Monitoring Centre
WWF	World Wide Fund for Nature