GSDNR's National Atlas Frameworks project provides a set of digital integrated base map layers at the scale of 1:1M that combine information associated with people (census, transportation, populated places) and the environment (watersheds, protected areas, land cover). These frameworks help decision-makers find a satisfactory balance between social, economic, and environmental factors in order to manage our natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The National Atlas Frameworks collection forms a base to which an increasing number of national scale thematic frameworks from other federal government agencies are integrated; ecological regions and census subdivisions, for example. A growing number of federal departments including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Statistics Canada, and Environment Canada have also selected National Atlas Frameworks as a base for environmental indicator reporting.

The primary goal of the frameworks is to indicate correct relative positioning with other framework layers rather than absolute positional accuracy. To this end, hydrology (which includes coastline) is the base layer to which all other framework layers are fitted.

National Atlas Framework data is based on international standards to ensure consistency and compatibility with other national frameworks. This is essential since the project is also working with the US and Mexican national-scale mapping programs to produce a set of North American frameworks with consistent geometry and classification systems.

Project stakeholders include policy analysts, non-governmental organizations, key federal sustainable development initiatives, and international agencies with sustainable development mandates.

In delivering national-scale cartographic frameworks, this project will complement the GeoBase program, which provides highly accurate regional-scale topographic frameworks via provincial partnerships.

Development of the National Atlas Framework datasets is partially funded through GeoConnections, which is a national partnership working to build the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure to make Canada's geographic data, tools and services readily accessible on-line. The growing set of national-scale frameworks is now available on-line at the GeoConnections web address above.

Project Priorities:

• Development of methodology to integrate geographical names with both physical and human-made features (eg. rivers, towns, mountains, capes/bays)
• Release of harmonized North American frameworks (June 2004)
• Evaluation of the need for other national framework themes
• Integration of 1:1M Protected Areas and Land Cover frameworks
• Linking of 1:1M National Atlas Frameworks to regional GeoBase theme
• On-going maintenance of existing frameworks (hydro, transportation, place names)

For more information, please contact the project leader: Peter Paul

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