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| French National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière |
| Native name | Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière |
| Formation | 1940 (precursor), 2012 (current form) |
| Headquarters | Saint-Mandé, Île-de-France |
| Jurisdiction | France |
| Chief1 name | Éric Barbry |
| Website | (official) |
French National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information The Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière is the French public establishment responsible for national cartography, geodesy, topography and forest inventory. It succeeds historical bodies tied to the Napoleonic Wars era mapping tradition and works closely with institutions such as the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the National Museum of Natural History (France), and regional authorities including the Île-de-France council and the Hauts-de-France prefectures.
Origins trace to the Dépot de la Guerre and the cartographic efforts of the Consulate of France and the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte. Successor organizations include the Institut Géographique National founded in the 20th century amid reforms after the Franco-Prussian War and the interwar modernization linked to figures from the École Polytechnique and the École des Ponts ParisTech. Post-World War II reconstruction and the Cold War context engaged agencies such as the Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure and the Service Géographique de l'Armée in cooperative mapping. The modern institute formed by restructuring in the early 21st century integrating forestry missions from predecessors associated with the Office national des forêts and commitments under European directives such as the Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC).
Governance combines ministerial oversight by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (France) and coordination with the Ministry of the Interior (France). The institute’s board includes representatives from the National Assembly (France), the Senate (France), the Conseil d'État (France), and technical stakeholders including the French Academy of Sciences and the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. Regional branches liaise with prefectures like Bouches-du-Rhône and Gironde, and research units partner with universities such as Sorbonne University, Université Grenoble Alpes, and University of Strasbourg.
Mandates include national topographic mapping for civil and defense use, geodetic reference maintenance aligned with European Reference Frame (ETRS89), and emergency mapping support during crises like floods in Var or wildfires in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The institute produces cadastral basemaps for authorities such as the Direction générale des Finances publiques and supports spatial planning under laws shaped by the Code de l'urbanisme (France). It also supplies geospatial data to agencies including Météo-France, the Agence française de développement, and the European Environment Agency.
Products span national topographic series, orthophotography campaigns used by the European Space Agency, and digital terrain models adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Publication lines reference historical map series associated with the Cassini family surveys and modern digital services comparable to initiatives by the Ordnance Survey and the United States Geological Survey. The institute distributes datasets through portals used by municipal authorities in cities like Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Nantes, and contributes cartography to cultural heritage projects with the Ministry of Culture (France) and museums such as the Musée du Louvre.
Forest inventory programs link to the Office national des forêts and support monitoring of species listed under the Bern Convention and habitats protected via the Natura 2000 network. Research collaborations include projects with the French National Centre for Scientific Research and experimental work in regions such as Massif Central and Corsica. The institute contributes data for climate assessments used by panels like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and biodiversity reports coordinated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Technical platforms incorporate airborne LiDAR campaigns, satellite remote sensing using missions like SPOT and Sentinel (satellite constellation), and geodetic stations integrated into the International GNSS Service. The institute develops standards for geospatial metadata interoperable with INSPIRE Directive implementations and collaborates on software stacks influenced by projects from OpenStreetMap communities and tools like QGIS. It also partners with industry actors such as Airbus Defence and Space and research laboratories within the CEA ecosystem.
Internationally, the institute participates in organizations including the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, the European Spatial Data Research networks, and bilateral programs with agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Geoscience Australia. It contributes to standardization bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization and the Open Geospatial Consortium, and engages in capacity building in Francophone countries through cooperation with the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie and bilateral agreements with states like Senegal, Madagascar, and Canada.
Category:Cartography of France Category:Forestry in France