GRID-Arendal: 30 Years of Making a Difference

GRID-Arendal’s report State of the Environment Norway 1995 received the prestigious Princes’ Award 1996 for best audio visuals on Europe’s environment. The award was presented by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Felipe of Spain. GRID-Arendal became technically responsible for the development and implementation of the UNEPnet/Mercure telecommunications system. More than 1.2 million hits were registered in our web site and 12 000 data sets were disseminated online to users, making GRID- Arendal a major online provider of environmental information in the Nordic region. GRID-Arendal led a comprehensive initiative, BALLERINA, to address the regional needs of the Baltic sea area for improved access to environmental and sustainable development information. GRID-Arendal hosted 5 major international meetings: the Second Circumpolar Arctic VegetationMappingWorkshop in May; the Third Annual UNEP/CGIAR/GRIDWorkshop on the Use of GIS in Agricultural Research in June; the Nordic Policy Seminar Arctic Development and Environmental Challenges: Information Needs for Decision-making and International Cooperation in September; the International Arctic Environment Data Directory workshop Arctic Environmental Information on the Net: Implementing a Gateway to the Arctic in November; and the Workshop on Cities’ State of the Environment on the Internet in December.

1996