ESA participating in UN's Montreal summit working for a better atmosphere   The city of Montreal is at the centre of this Envisat MERIS image, acquired 9 September 2003 in Full Resolution mode, with a resolution of 300 metres. Located in the Canadian province of Quebec, Montreal is centred on Montreal Island at the confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence Rivers, the latter seen flowing northeast out of Lake Ontario. The urban area appears grey against the surrounding greenery.   The Kyoto Protocol operates on the basis that forests can be considered as 'sinks' of carbon, and national forest reserves can be set against permitted carbon dioxide emission levels. In support of Kyoto, ESA is developing space-based means of monitoring land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) with a Data User Programme project called Kyoto Inventory and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) GSE Forest Monitoring service.   Three-dimensional view of Switzerland land use map, incorporating digital elevation model data, seen from the north.   Landsat satellite image (left) and derived land use map for part of Lombardy, Italy.   Deforestation as well as afforestation and other forms of land cover change are being charted by the Kyoto-Inventory service and its successor GSE Forest Monitoring, which is part of the GMES initiative. Release date: 1 December 2005