The book contains private views of experts from various countries on the
role of geological mapping in sustainable development. New technologies
and concepts are presented, which are either awaiting for recognition by
Geological Surveys, or are gradually applied in some survey. The target
of the book is well worded in the "Summary and recommendations"
elaborated by the Ad Hoc Committee at the Advanced Research Workshop on
Innovative Geological Cartography, held under NATO sponsorship in Poland
in November 2003. After the "Summaries" were issued by the end of 2003,
the authors who presented their views at the Workshop, gave a revised
version of their papers with more new ideas and material. Generally, the
book is addressed to cartographers in Geological Surveys, geologists and
geographers co-operating with landuse planners, ecologists and decision
makers, who may learn about the state-of-the-art and the enormous
information potential of the modern information technologies in
Geosciences. The book, however, gives no methodological recipes but, as
it was the authors' intention, may and shall be used as a guide-book in
modernizing Information Technologies at the local, regional and national
levels in Geosciences.