This article presents the use of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, for land resources management with examples of various inter-linked applications in the Colombian Orinoco region. These applications are part of a project initiated in January 1999 and entitled “Exploration of opportunities for land use and agricultural development in the Colombian Orinoco”. Through nested test sites, they involve partnerships with the decision-makers at four different administrative levels, i.e. the village, the municipality, the department and the region. This project is also part of the savanna component of CIAT's eco-regional approach. We are diffusing the use of GIS at each of these levels as a tool for planning but also as a means to facilitate information transfer between levels. The determination of the biophysical restrictions to agriculture is an important step in the land use planning process. We are presently exploring different approaches to land suitability evaluation to determine which are most suitable at different levels or scales. In this context, we present the results of an evaluation based on an existing soil study for the municipality of Puerto López. An approach based on landscapes mapped from satellite images would be suitable for regional and departmental levels. If supported by adequate field characterization of soils and land use, as well as a good understanding of how these landscapes were formed, such an approach could be used by municipalities where semi-detailed soil studies have not been conducted yet. Land suitability maps explicitly presenting the topographic variations within landscapes are mostly useful for planning at the village or farm level.