Remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and agrometeorological and other environmental observations assist in acquiring and processing such data for addressing a variety of key issues related to environment and natural resources management, food production and food security, coastal zone monitoring, desertification, biological diversity, energy and climate change impact. Geo-referenced data from other sources, for example, socio-economic data, can also be combined with such environmental data for more in-depth analyses.

Geoinformation, monitoring and assessment includes all aspects of geoinformation data acquisition, analysis and dissemination, such as the activities themselves and the tools and techniques used. Examples of activities are the Africover project and the ARTEMIS environmental monitoring information system. Others are the standardization of geographic data, various software tools such as WinDisp, and the website METART, where near real-time data from the ARTEMIS system can be visualized and analysed. Specific data sets, such as global climatic maps and other agrometeorological and GIS databases, are also made available.