Published:
21 Feb 2008 - Public authorities across
Europe collect a vast range of environmental
data but different practices of classification
and reporting make it difficult to access
them and use them for cross-border analyses.
The shared environmental
information system (SEIS) aims to fulfill
this gap by interconnecting existing databases,
promoting the use of standards and making
data accessible to all. The European Environment
Agency has an important part to play in
this process.
Many countries have
already started connecting their local and
national databases and publishing their
data online. For example, the German environmental
portal "PortalU" brings together
data from several several hundred thousand
webpages and more than 120 public agencies.
Italy is developing an environmental information
and monitoring system (EIMS Italy).
Such initiatives will
be the building blocks of SEIS, which will
ensure that policy makers and citizens alike
can easily find and access the latest data
available through not only the European
Environment Agency (EEA) portal but also
national portals.
A portal for sharing
ozone information is already in place. High
concentration of ozone at ground level is
a health hazard. It can cause breathing
difficulties and damage lungs, especially
in children and people with asthma or other
respiratory illnesses. Every hour, the EEA
receives ozone data from some 700 measurement
stations across Europe. Within hours this
information is presented online in form
of maps (Ozone live map).
Why do we need to know?We
are affected by the state of the environment
in an area much larger than our immediate
surroundings. Policy-makers depend on reliable
and real-time information to determine the
most appropriate course of action. For people
in border regions as well as occasional
tourists, information on air pollution or
water quality across the border could prove
crucial.
What next? As a first step in the implementation
of the SEIS, the European Commission presented
on 1 February 2008 the approach to modernise
and simplify the collection, exchange and
use of data and information required in
connection with environmental policy. Later
in the year, in collaboration with European
countries and the EEA, the Commission will
present a detailed implementation plan.
