Advancing access and dissemination of environmental information and public participation through electronic information tools

Maastricht, 1 July 2014

barbara.ruis@unep.org

What is UNEP Live?

- UNEP’s new knowledge management platform; - focus on global, regional and national data sharing; - fully based on open standards and common tagging; - range of analytical, mapping, search, spatial info, visualisation and publishing tools; and - all in support of improved, more dynamic, interactive, on-line assessment and reporting processes.

http://www.uneplive.org/

My Country

Combines the most up-to-date information taken directly from the national provider with UNEP’s assessments, reports, analyses

Users can access:• Country profiles• Maps and satellite imagery • Core sets of indicators of env’l.

performance • Links to national website• Access to other data

providers• Simple comparative toolkits• Search for related

publications

Promoting collaboration and exchange of expertise among MEAs

Members MEA Information and Knowledge Management Initiative• Basel

• CBD• CITES• CMS (and AEWA)• ITPGR-FA• Montreal Protocol• Minamata• Ramsar• Rotterdam• Stockholm• UNCCD• UNECE (5 MEAs) • UNESCO-WHC• UNFCCC • Regional Seas and other

regional MEAs

ObserversEEA (Eionet), EMG, IISD, IUCN, UNEP-WCMC, FAO

Promoting collaboration and exchange of expertise among MEAs

“Interoperability”• MEA Secretariats remain the custodians of their data • Information is harvested using APIs (Application

Programming Interface)

Members of the MEA Information and KnowledgeManagement Initiative have agreed on interoperabilitystandards related to the:• Syntactical level (XML Schemas)• Structural level (Odata information exchange

protocol)• Semantic level (MEA Controlled Vocabulary)

Work is ongoing…

Promoting collaboration and exchange of expertise among MEAs

Current projects InforMEA is the first project of the MEA IKM InitiativeA further phase of InforMEA is funded by the European Union. Tools currently under development include:

• An electronic library of official MEA documents • An E-learning introductory course into MEAs• A portal on capacity building documents supporting the course

and further InforMEA E-learning tools• The establishment of an InforMEA Thesaurus to improve search

functions of knowledge tools• Information on National reporting leading eventually to platforms

that are able to “speak to one another”• Information on trade related information leading eventually to a

“Single Window” on regulatory trade information