National-level partners will be assisted to develop and implement National
Environmental Information Portals, the purpose of which is to provide
structured, comprehensive, coherent, accurate, current and validated/authorised
information, and to facilitate access to key data and information resources
on the environment and sustainable development for a wide range of users.
The process will involve assisting key national-level partners contributing
to the integrated assessment and reporting process to build capacity to
develop and maintain institutional-level functional and operational databases,
with associated metadatabases, and integrating such databases within a national
network of SOE data and information centres.
To facilitate the development of national portals, a Data Exchange Platform,
which will serve as an institutional and technical framework for harnessing
and providing harmonised data and information deriving from different sources
in each country, will be established. The Platform will comprise collaborative
arrangements and mechanisms, including standards, as well as information
exchange agreements essential for the adoption of a unified approach for
the development, harmonisation, sharing and application of multi-source
data at national level and sub-regional levels (Figure 1).
The focus of activities will be on core datasets for integrated environmental
assessments and reporting, while supporting and catalysing networking and
the development of the support mechanisms for a comprehensive and harmonised
national sustainable development data foundation. The outcome of activities
will be an institutional networking framework, involving like-minded people
and institutions having a common cause and who share the same principles,
a supportive information exchange policy dealing with various information
sharing issues incorporating the Aarhus Principles on access to information.
The focus of activities will be on core datasets for integrated environmental
assessments and reporting, while supporting and catalysing networking and
the development of the support mechanisms for a comprehensive and harmonised
national sustainable development data foundation. The outcome of activities
will be an institutional networking framework, involving like-minded people
and institutions having a common cause and who share the same principles,
a supportive information exchange policy dealing with various information
sharing issues incorporating the Aarhus Principles on access to information.
Figure 1 - Data Exchange Platform - Vision
The broader objective of the Platform is to establish
a foundation for the development of national Spatial Data Infrastructure
(SDI) that would respond readily to national needs for comprehensive development
information needs of the country. It is therefore hoped that national
AEIN partners will make every effort to involve all potential stakeholders,
especially those who may be involved in the implementation of various
initiatives and projects on information management. Where a framework
already exists, close collaboration will be established in order to create
synergy.
In terms of data and information access, AEIN will use Internet technology
to address the issue of ownership and control of information, which act
as serious barriers to information flow among institutions around Africa,
particularly those within the public sector. The concepts of "information
communities" and "shared spaces" will enable collaborators to build trust
and confidence among themselves, and promote transparency
in information usage.
To start with, a "shared space" would be a consensus-building forum where
members of the community would meet and hold discussions on common issues
of interest. Partners will work towards creating a common "place" where
people could go for authoritative information. They will create a common
directory containing validated, authoritative and secured information
that has been generated by various producers within the community, using
harmonised standards and methodologies. The Internet will be used as the
principal means by which producers of the information will put the directory
of information sources online, setting up a "portal" to share the information
with the rest of the world. Recognising the lack of appropriate infrastructure
in some cases, or limitations in bandwidth, other means such as CD-ROM
and hard copy directories will be produced.
Figure 2 illustrates the building blocks for creating shared spaces, for
working together and sharing environmental information from common repositories,
within the framework of AEIN.
Figure 2- Shared "spaces" and
information repositories
The first level of activity will be within the institutional "space"
where the capacity of partner institutions that are identified as contributing
directly to the integrated assessment and reporting process will be enhanced
for the development and maintenance of operational databases that meet their
own functional needs, as well as contributing to the core data sets. The
second level of activities will support the development of a framework,
or "country space", within which institutional "spaces"
will be linked, with underlying structures for harmonisation, to create
a common information portal. Each collaborating partner institution will
have its own dedicated "space" where they will post their information,
either for restricted use, or for open public access. Institutions will
have equal visibility, and establish an Internet presence with their own
identity through the portal. The public "spaces" would contain
institutional information, data resources, information products, services,
and technical resources such as available expertise.
Metadata on all available data resources will be captured, stored and maintained
by the respective data custodian. A clearing house mechanism will be implemented
to facilitate easy access to metadata that may be held at different locations.
Where it is operationally impossible or ineffective to have a distributed
metadatabase, the metadata will be stored within one central database and
managed by a Technical Service Centre.
Links will be established with external information networks, including
web sites and/or portals.
