Land cover and land use information is a vital information for governments, agencies and institutions of a country to make informed decisions, promote sustainable development, protect the environment, food security biodiversity conservation, climate change and ensure the well-being of their citizens. It plays a critical role in shaping policies and actions that align with long-term sustainability goals.

Technological advancements have significantly heightened the value of land cover (LC) information. However, this progress has also widened the user base, posing challenges for harmonization and uniform utilization. The constant generation of new LC data and diverse classification schemes has led to inconsistencies, hindered interoperability, and limited practical application due to traditional vague classifications. Hence, there is a critical necessity to create reliable, standardized LC data and legends using geospatial tools and applications. This approach is crucial to effectively address global, regional, and national environmental monitoring needs and challenges.

The Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) is involved in developing and enhancing all aspects of land cover and its applications. FAO offers land cover services at global, regional, and national levels following international standards and using the latest state of art technology innovation. This includes land cover legend registry, land cover ontology and classification systems, essential to consistency across systems and disciplinesfor sharing; development of methodologies for operational rapid assessment of land cover and its changes at national, regional and global scale; and helping member countries to meet their need for up-to-date, consistent and detailed land cover and land use information. FAO Tunisia is working closely with the national partners to ensure the sustainability of the system to support ongoing projects.