MEDPOL INFORMATION SYSTEM United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan

MEDPOL INFORMATION SYSTEM

United Nations Environment ProgrammeMediterranean Action Plan


Introduction

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INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF MED

POL

It will provide tools for sharing and storing data and information for all internal and external users to MED POL.

A plan for a MED POL Information System (I.S.) is required, providing the technical and project management approach to support MED POL’s evolving information management needs.


THROUGH THE MED POL INFORMATION SYSTEM

numerous documents originating from MED POL’s activities should be re-organized: Indexed, catalogued, optimized A data-bank should be inserted allowing accurate, transversal and comparative research The enormous flux of information should be managed, continuously monitored, and organized so as to make it readable and available, through geographical, flexible and conceptualized maps of interest.

How


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MEDPOL IS GENERATING DATA AND INFORMATION

through its different components as follow: Coastal Water monitoring programme Strategic Action Programme (SAP)

The aim of the software is to help MED POL classify the data related to the National Budget Baseline in electronic format, to enable MED POL and national experts to easily retrieve the necessary information to develop and assess the status of the marine environment of the Mediterranean Sea.

How

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THROUGH IT MED POL WOULD OFFER:

Assistance to the Contracting Parties (CPs), while rendering more smooth and constructive the cooperation among MED POL, the CPs, and UNEP/MAP’s Coordinating Unit, Programmes and RACs Reference services to Mediterranean scientific, professional and student communities, as well as to the media and public at large, to actively involve civil society in MED POL’s activities and objectives.

For who

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MED POL I.S. WOULD PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING MAIN ACTIVITIES:

Retrieve and analyze data and contents deriving from MED POL activities, as well as their re-organization and dissemination through the MED POL Info System data-banks Provide information to be used for capacity-building activities, i.e. training courses, professional updating, training of operators; university masters and doctoral degrees, specialization courses carried out by leaders of the sector and teaching centres. Lessons, teaching material and minor theses will be available on-line Information and Communication multimedia events. Photos, images and audiovisual material will be available on-line On-line forums and meetings on the activities dealt within the project framework, to improve MED POL’s programme lines to be implemented within the Barcelona Convention, and promote the objectives and activities of UNEP/MAP.

What it does

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The outcome of the work carried out within the different activities will be included in the MED POL Info System and made available on-line to all project participants, through the exchange of teaching material and suggestions.

All this will produce a real and open virtual Info System, ranging from MED POL’s scientific information basis, to on-line teaching/educational activities, including multimedia events, which will allow a more simple and accessible informative language.

A rich source of information on the Mediterranean environment will, thus, be available, together with information on the sustainable use of its resources. Up-to-date information on MED POL’s events and on-going activities will also be available, as well as links to other sources of information on the environment and sustainable development.

What it does

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SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

The portal will consist on the following modules (with possibility for extension):

Informational Support and Inventory module GIS module Data retrieving module Remote sensing module Operational Oceanography module Simulation (modeling) module

The GIS module will be used for analysing MED POL’s monitoring data, for report preparation and for Internet presentations.

How it works

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USER PROFILES

The users will be grouped into three categories: MAP/MED POL Partners – they will have unrestricted access to data through the MED POL IS portal. They will have direct links for exchanging raw data; the internal MED POL IM Web will provide summaries, documentations and general information Scientific community – they will have access to data according to MED POL’s data policy General Public (educational institutions, international agencies, media, others) – they will only have access to summary data, atlases, reports and audiovisual material

Documents and protocols regarding quality control, processing procedures, data collection and methodologies will be accessible to all users.

How it works

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MED POL I.S. SOLUTION

In order to meet the objectives, MED POL will use a flexible approach that will satisfy the growing need of MED POL partners to access and integrate data.

To facilitate data access MED POL I.S. will have to use a federate database system, with distributed ownership and responsibility.

MED POL I.S. will use a centralised index of widely distributed data consisting of the MED POL I.S. Data Inventory and Public Web Site.

The basis of this approach is available data, a catalogue to locate data, a mechanism for accessing data, and high quality documentation.

The successful delivery of data depends on the use of well-documented data standards and protocols that ensure the quality and content of the data and the metadata.

How it works

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TO SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT THIS DISTRIBUTED DATA MODEL, MED POL I.S. MUST FOCUS ITS

EFFORTS IN TWO MAIN AREAS:

Maintain an inventory of available data and documentation for MED POL I.S. users on the MED POL Public Web Site to ensure access to relevant data sets. The inventory will contain more information than the metadata included in the catalogue, in order to provide more details than those that can be practically included in the catalogue Participate in developing and adopting data standards that facilitate data integration. The standards adopted for use in MED POL I.S. must be flexible, interoperable with other systems, and allow evolution with changing demands.

How it works

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THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF MED POL I.S. ARE:

How it works

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Data Inventory

An index of distributed data, documentation, and information products relevant to MED POL users. Data Inventory may provide hyperlinks to distributed sites where data and metadata are housed (e.g. WWW pages, FTP sites, data repositories). The Data Inventory contains links to corresponding data and metadata files

Data Catalogue

It will describe the entities (e.g., fields or columns in the data base), the quality, the methodologies, the platforms and other detailed information for accessing the data and products. For practical reasons the metadata contained in the catalogue will be quite limited

MED POL Public WEB Site

Will provide web browser access to MED POL data and information for all users. MED POL Web will contain the Data Directory, program description, green documents. Materials to be placed on the site must go through an approval process

MED POL Internal Web Site

Is intended for accessing data in a secured network, testing of applications and review of data and information. It includes USERS-to-USERS inter-exchange software and a central catalogue


The figure shows the flow of data from data sources to users. The MED POL partners can make unlimited, ‘on demand’ data requests through the portal. External users will access data only through the MED POL I.S. portal and will be subjected to download limitations.

SYSTEM CONCEPT

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User 1 User 2 User 3MED POLOperat. Users

MED POL Internal Web Site

MED POL Public Access Web Site

•General information•Data Inventory•Data Catalogue•Summary data sets•Documentation

USERSWWW

Browsers


Content Management helps to solve the significant problems existing in e-business applications and made proper the presence of the Web Content Management infrastructure. WCM is a multi-scale system managing electronic items, with “front end” and “back end” functions.

The “back end” WCM system functions can carry out internal processes related to collection, creation, modification and administration of a web portal and its contents. The “front end” WCM system functions are made available to users via the portal.

A WCM system brings together all the items that make up a content. It adds metadata and categorizes information as a mechanism to store, index and retrieve the content.

In addition, it provides an intuitive interface for the writer who adds content and ensures that they are published in the proper format.

Moreover, the system guarantees the management of the entire contents and its versions life-cycle.

DATA/CONTENT MANAGEMENT

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extend


DATA/CONTENT MANAGEMENT

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Web Content Management StructureBack


THE MED POL INFORMATION SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED IN CLOSE COOPERATION WITH ERS/RAC, IN LINE WITH RECOMMENDATIONS ENSUING FROM THE 13TH ORDINARY MEETING OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES IN CATANIA, NOVEMBER 2003.

Thank you


Conclusion

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