On 26 March 1979 the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme invited Unesco, within the framework of its General Information Programme, to participate in the evaluation of INFOTERRA which was planned by UNEP for presentation to its Governing Council in May 1981. In view of the continuing role of Unesco in providing the UNISIST framework for the development of information systems and services within the United Nations system and notably its experience in conducting evaluation of international information systems, the Director-General of Unesco accepted this invitation.