At the Eye on Earth Summit Esri will describe how cloud GIS is positioned to create an international geospatial platform for sharing environmental data and designing solutions.

Also former US president Bill Clinton, Esri president Jack Dangermond, and European Environment Agency (EEA) director Jacquelyn McGlade will join other renowned speakers to present the value of accessible data for international collaboration and decision making.

The Eye on Earth network will be featured at the summit in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates, on December 12-15, 2011. Esri, Microsoft, and EEA have pooled their expertise to retool EEA's Eye on Earth with a cloud-based geospatial content management system modeled after ArcGIS Online.

The Eye on Earth network now provides tools for creating maps, accessing thousands of readily available maps and datasets, and managing geospatial content.

People can use the network to share content with the public and among groups or to use privately. Governments, research organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the public can use the network to work together to understand problems, develop policy, design plans, and take action.

Furthermore, the cloud-configured network provides the foundation for other regions to create similar environmental platforms.

"People truly care about their environment, but they can be at a loss as to how to participate in policy and make a difference," said Dangermond.

"By putting environmental and social information into the hands of many people, the Eye on Earth network will become a catalyst for conversation. We think this is going to bring people to their feet by empowering them to understand problems and be part of the solutions."

Esri's ArcGIS Online technology, coupled with Windows Azure and Microsoft SQL Azure, allows EEA to host and maintain the platform, create database and business process management systems, and integrate security constraints.

GIS web apps help user groups create and share map-based services, perform analysis, and publish geospatial products.

In the summit's pavilion, experts will demonstrate the Eye on Earth network's capabilities such as citizen engagement and collaborative environmental problem solving.