A wide range of primary products will be completed (multi-thematic geoscience syntheses and petroleum assessments, digital basin atlas, complementary maps, papers and nontechnical reports).

The project has close linkages with activities underway within the CCGK program, particularly the resource syntheses activity and the GDRIS projects. Similarly, links to the NRD Program as it relates to Northern energy and mineral knowledge gaps are key.

1. Enhanced investment opportunities derived from the marketing of "on-line", innovative geological models derived from new, synthetic geoscience products.
2. Identification of economically important knowledge gaps through the comparison of APM project data, syntheses and ideas with the state of geoscience knowledge in adjoining regions.
3. Enthusiasm and support for an "intergovernmental Collaborative Geological Mapping Strategies initiative" through aggressive marketing of the benefits of projects like APM.

To increase the quality of life for the peoples of the Andes will take economic activity on a broad enough scale that through taxation revenues governments can provide infrastructure and other social benefits. In order to foster economic activity companies must feel that social and political stability exists in order to proceed with investment. Natural hazards form part of the complex mixture of natural, social and political factors that influence the location and type of investment. The availability and integration of updated geoscience and geospatial data on natural hazards will help land use planning and optimize economic investment. It is expected that the information created, integrated and interpreted will be used by local governments in better planning of the placement of infrastructure and community development (hazard zonation). Appropriate mitigation strategies for large business is as important as providing information on anthropogenic and natural hazards to individual citizens - if a natural disaster destroys the economic base of a region the impact will be even greater and recovery longer. This impact is especially hard on the women and children.

Pathways is a an ontology-based knowledge integration and decision support system (DSS) that will address these needs by situating and translating earth science information into a form that is compatible with emerging sustainability modeling, planning and decision support frameworks. The system is intended to provide capacities;

1. to integrate, translate and visualize existing web-based natural and social science information and knowledge assets describing current system conditions for a given geographic region, through the use of interoperable semantic web and data mining technologies,
2. to couple these information/knowledge systems with integrated assessment modeling tools to examine both likely and desirable future scenarios for a community or region, and to assist in the research and development of local, regional and federal policies that will support pathways toward preferred future scenarios,
3. to monitor progress toward or away from identified planning objectives using sustainability indicators and related decision-support tools, and
4. to engage multi-stakeholder community groups in the development and use of these systems in support of specific planning and decision-making functions. The system will provide a framework for integrating information and knowledge outputs of complimentary ESS programs, and will be developed using standards-based web services technologies, and emerging Canadian (CGDI) and international (OGC) standards for information and system interoperability.

The Geoscape Canada initiative focuses on the geoscience issues of major Canadian metropolitan areas, where most Canadians live. We are thus speaking to Canadians about the places they care most about. The principal goal of the Geoscape Canada project is to promote wiser, science-based decision making at all levels of government levels through improved public understanding of earth science issues. A second goal is to foster links between the GSC and educators, provincial and municipal government agencies, businesses, and community organizations involved in public education.